Initiatives & Projects

National Library Week will be observed April 8-14, 2012 with the theme, "You belong @ your library®."  

First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate.

Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week Grant  - The winner of the 2012 Scholastic Library Publishing National Library Week grant will be announced at the ALA Midwinter Meeting in Dallas, Texas (Jan. 20-24). Learn more about  National Library Week and download free tools at ala.org/nlw. 

Library Card Sign-up Month - Each year thousands of public and school libraries come together each fall in a national effort to remind parents and children that a library card is the most important school supply of all. Library Card Sign-up Month was launched in 1987.

In 2011, baseball legend Cal Ripkin served as Honorary Chair of Library Card Sign-up Month. As the Honorary Chair, Ripkin donated his image for a print public service announcement (PSA) that ALA placed in magazines during the month of September. Librarians can download the PSA as is or have it customized with the library’s own logo at no cost.

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 come in from every state for librarians in public, school, college, community college and university libraries, and all of the nominations are inspiring; people love their librarians!

2011 was the fourth year of the award, which will continue annually through 2012.  Read about this year's winners and winners from 2008 and 2009 and 2010.

Step Up to the Plate @ your library  - Season six of Step Up to the Plate @ your library teams up two American classics - baseball and libraries - to to promote libraries and librarians as essential information resources. People of all ages were encouraged to visit their library and answer a series of trivia questions. This year, Step Up to the Plate @ your library connects generations by exploring baseball’s more than 150-year history through topics like famous baseball families and historical baseball franchises.  

 Connect with your kids@ your library, a new outreach campaign that encourages parents to spend more quality time with their children at their library, was launched at the 2011 ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans .

The initiative is designed to strengthen families by motivating parents to spend more quality time with their children.  Specifically, the campaign promotes the public and school library as a trusted place to spend quality time with children. The campaign reinforces the idea that taking children to the library is a sign of being a good parent and demonstrates the free high quality programs available at the library for parents and children. Bring Connect with your kids to your library.  Read more

  Atyourlibrary.org  is the public website for the American Library Association’s public awareness campaign — The Campaign for America’s Libraries, which promotes the value of libraries and librarians.

The goal of  the website is to provide information and recommended resources that everyone can take advantage of at their local library. The site encourages people to connect with their local library and librarians.

Content on atyourlibrary.org is designed for library patrons, but it's also designed for librarians. On the site, you will find articles both timely and timeless that you can use to help your patrons use your library more, and use it better. Read more