National Library Week (April 15 - 21)

It's National Library Week (April 15 - 21)!

This year's theme is "Come together @ your library," and libraries are looking more like social hotspots. Unlike bookstores and cyber cafés, libraries offer free access to technologies including wireless Internet access, laptops for in-library use, 24/7 online reference help, e-books, blogs, Wikis and downloadable MP3s.

Some events going on during National Library Week include:

"Step Up to the Plate @ your library" national launch, April 15. America's favorite pastimes - baseball and libraries - team up for literacy. Kids and young adults between the ages 9 to 18 years of age are invited to go to their library from April 15 to September 1, 2007, pick out a baseball book and submit an essay on how their favorite character inspired them. One grand-prize winner will receive a trip to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in October 2007. More information on "Step Up to the Plate @ your library," developed by ALA and the Hall of Fame, can be found at www.ala.org/baseball.

The release of ALA's State of America's Libraries Report, April 16. The report details both the positive impact libraries and librarians have on the millions of people who use them and the various challenges libraries face.

National Library Workers Day (NLWD), April 17. The American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA), an organization that advocates for improving the salaries and status of librarians and support staff, also is sponsoring its third annual National Library Workers Day (NLWD). This national observance is a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers - including librarians, support staff and others.

If you need some ideas to celebrate National Library Week, check out this link at ALA:
http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/campaign/campaignamericas.htm