Submit a star and tell us about your healthy workplace for National Library Workers Day
Contact: Jenifer Grady
Director, ALA-APA (Member Programs & Services)
(312) 280-2424
jgrady@ala.org
For Immediate Release,
February 12, 2008
Submit a star and tell us about your healthy workplace for National Library Workers Day
CHICAGO - Start the celebration early for National Library Workers Day (NLWD) by telling the world what makes your favorite library employee special.
ALA-APA is accepting submissions for the NLWD Stars web site -
www.ala-apa.org/about/nlwdstarsform.html. NLWD is celebrated on Tuesday, April 15, during the American Library Association (ALA)-sponsored National Library Week. This year, we also want to know how your library administration staff gets and stays healthy.
This year, in addition to honoring library staff for delivering stellar service, the American Library Association-Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) also wants to hear about library programming, equipment and benefits that are helping staff improve their health. For example, if your colleague teaches a staff yoga class, or you provide low-fat food choices at meetings and events or in vending machines or the library gives staff discounts to local gyms or hosts support groups for staff, let us know. NLWD Stars and workplace wellness initiatives will be featured on the National Library Workers Day site for one year. Self-nominations are accepted. The deadline for submission is April 14.
Download the free NLWD poster from
http://www.ala-apa.org/about/nlwd_poster.pdf to decorate your library and let patrons, trustees and colleagues how to submit a star.
NLWD is a day for library staff, users, administrators and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. Libraries are encouraged to use National Library Workers Day to focus on the value of their staff, includingindividuals or units responsible for the number of materials selected, acquired, cataloged, checked out and back in and shelved; for handling requests and sending them to other libraries; for answering reference questions; for planning, publicizing and presenting programs; for developing and maintaining the library's Web site; for managing the library and for other elements of library service. Ideas for how to celebrate in your library are here:
http://www.ala-apa.org/about/NLWDflyer.pdf and
http://www.ala-apa.org/about/ideas.html.
For examples of workplace wellness initiatives, please see the ALA-APA survey analysis -
http://www.ala-apa.org/salaries/workplacewellnessquant.pdf.
Proud of the work you do? The ALA Online Store is selling buttons that proclaim "Libraries Work Because We Do" -
http://www.alastore.ala.org/SiteSolution.taf?_sn=catalog&_pn=product_detail&_op=2521.
Customizable tools and materials in English and Spanish to help libraries promote National Library Workers Day in their local media are available on the ALA-APA Web site at
http://www.ala-apa.org/about/materials.html.
The list of NLWD Stars will be updated weekly. Contact the ALA-APA Office to tell us how you will be celebrating - (800) 545-2433, ext. 2424 or
jgrady@ala.org.
Equal Pay Day, April 22, is closely related to NLWD, because libraries are staffed predominately by women, and library workers tend to be underpaid. Equal Pay Day highlights the gap between the wages of men and women. For more information, see the NCPE website at
www.pay-equity.org.
National Library Week (April 13-19) press materials, programming suggestions and display ideas can be found on the ALA Web site at
http://www.ala.org/ala/pio/natlibraryweek/nlw.htm in both English and Spanish. The theme for 2007 is "Come Together @ your library®." The site includes a link to National Library Week products available from ALA Graphics, including posters, bookmarks and key chains.
NLWD is sponsored by ALA-APA: the Organization for the Advancement of Library Employees, which advocates for improving the salaries and status of librarians and support staff.
