~~April 23, 2014~~

In spite of the current technology, the eBooks, the kindles, the readers, the tablets, in my humble opinion, there’s nothing like the feeling of a hardcover book in my hands. It will be a magic carpet ride that will take me to faraway places, cultures and adventures. For me, I still prefer the old way.

Celebrate National Library Week

Libraries and librarians have a powerful and positive impact on the lives of Americans on a daily basis. Their stories are key to communicating the value of libraries. National Library Week is the perfect opportunity to encourage your community to tell the story of how the library has changed their life.

School Library Month History

School Library Month (SLM) is the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) celebration of school librarians and their programs. Every April school librarians are encouraged to create activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school library programs play in a student’s educational career.

The following is excerpted and adapted from “AASL Celebrates First National School Library Media Month,” which appeared in the Spring 1985 issue of School Library Media Quarterly (p. 83-84).The AASL efforts for a national School Library Month were spearheaded by Lucille Thomas, chair of the School Library Media Month Committee. Thomas was appointed by President Judy King in 1983.

Thomas and her committee gather ideas from previous state and local celebrations for school libraries, and compiled a fifty-two-page handbook for the first national observance. In April 1985, members of the committee were Edna Bayliss, Elsie Brainard, Winona Jones, Elizabeth Kenneson, Elinor McCloskey, and Virginia Moore.

The theme of the first national observance of School Library Month was “Where Learning Never Ends: The School Library Media Center.”

AASL officials, local and national dignitaries got the month off to a rousing start on April 1, 1985 with a ceremony on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) delivered the keynote address. Moynihan told the school librarians in the audience, “I want to thank you for what you do. I hope you know how important your work is. You change lives for the better. You touch people while they can still be touched.”

In 2010, the name of the celebration was changed to School Library Month after the Board of Directors voted to readopt the professional title school librarian, from the former school library media specialist.