Campaign for America's Libraries

The Campaign for America’s Libraries is the American Library Association’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians.  Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe - use the Campaign’s @ your library® brand. The Campaign is made possible in part by ALA’s Library Champions. To learn more visit About @ your library.

As part of her role as Honorary Chair of National Library Week (April 14-20, 2013), Caroline Kennedy visited the Sanislo Elementary School library in Seattle on April 8, 2013 to help promote School Library Month.  Kennedy met with first through third grade students in Sanislo’s poetry club and shared from her recent book, “Poems to Learn by Heart.”  More great photos of her visit with students are available on the @ your library Facebook page.

Kennedy will appear in public service announcements (PSAs) promoting National Library Week. The PSAs, developed by the American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries, will be placed in magazines and online throughout the spring. ALA will also offer free customization of the PSAs for libraries.

As part of the Auditorium Speaker Series at the 2013 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, Caroline Kennedy spoke passionately about the role that libraries and reading have played in her life. A video of the event is available online.

Caroline Kennedy was also the keynote speaker at the 2011 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award Ceremony in New York City. In that speech, she said that many librarians she has met are “professionals who are excited about their changing role in a changing world - who are dedicated to serving others, who respect scholarship, and who understand that you are our guides on a lifelong journey of intellectual collaboration and collaborative composition… . Your work is truly life changing.”  Read her remarks at Atyourlibrary.org.

Meet the winners of the 2012 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.   This year’s winners include a librarian who coordinates her library’s mail-a-book program for homebound patrons, a bilingual librarian who specializes in outreach to her community’s Latino population and a college librarian who transformed her library into a supportive, 21st century research space. Read more about these 10 extraordinary librarians making a difference in their communities.

Initiatives & Projects

Library Card Sign-up Month - September is Library Card Sign-Up Month - a time when the American Library Association and libraries across the country remind parents that the most important school supply of all is @ your library®--it's your library card.

Step Up to the Plate @ your library -  Season seven of Step Up to the Plate @ your library will once again team up two American classics - baseball and libraries - to to promote libraries and librarians as essential information resources. Season seven will launch shortly.

Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant - The electronic applications for the 2013 Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week grant will be available shortly. Apply by Sept. 30 for the chance to receive $3,000 for your library.  

The Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times "I Love my Librarian" Award - Each year, thousands of library supporters nominate their librarians for the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award, and 10 winners are selected.  Nominations for the I Love My Librarian award will open Thursday, June 21. Nominations are open to public, school, college, community college and university librarians. Read about the 2012 winners and winners from 2008, 2009, 2010.and the 2011 winners

National Library Week - First celebrated in 1958, National Library Week is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. National Library Week 2013 will be celebrated April 14-20, 2013.

Popular Resources

Downloadable @ your library logos - The @ your library® logo is available for libraries and library organizations nationwide—libraries and library organizations do not need to seek permission to use the logo.
 

PR Tools and Resources- Contains ready made public relations materials so that libraries of all types can promote themselves locally. Materials include toolkits developed by ALA Divisions, print, radio and television public service announcements (PSAs) and suggestions of how to use the @ your library brand to promote you library and library services.

Sponsorship Programming- Learn about The Campaign for America's Libraries sponsors.

Visibility @ your library Blog- is the blog of the American Library Association's Public Information Office, providing news and information for librarians and library supporters.

Subscribe to E-mail Lists- The Campaign for America's Libraries list serv, which provides updates on news and events related to The Campaign.

Contact Us

Megan Humphrey
Manager
The Campaign for America’s Libraries
(312) 280-4020
mhumphrey@ala.org

Megan McFarlane
Coordinator
The Campaign for America’s Libraries
(312) 280-2148
mmcfarlane@ala.org

50 E. Huron Street
Chicago, Illinois 60611
Main (312) 280-2148
Fax (312) 280-5274
atyourlibrary@ala.org