With the library world in turmoil as the Trump administration dismantles the federal agency responsible for providing grant funding to public libraries, the American Library Association is preparing for this year’s National Library Week, running April 6–12 with the tagline “Drawn to the Library!” While the annual event has taken on political overtones in recent years due to the spike in book bans—and now the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services—it ultimately celebrates the essential role that libraries, along with library professionals and workers, play in changing people’s lives and strengthening communities.
This year’s theme emphasizes the ways school and public libraries are indispensable to Americans from all walks of life, highlighting the free services to communities across the U.S. In large cities and small towns alike. Libraries provide a wide range of services, from books and author events and to career and genealogy resources. “From young families stopping in for play and storytime, to students sketching out their next creative project in a makerspace, to seniors seeking tech help and everyone in between,” the ALA said in a release, “libraries of all kinds help us connect the dots from one part of our journey to the next.”
The honorary cochairs of this year’s National Library Week are children’s book author and illustrator Raina Telgemeier—whose 2012 graphic novel Drama has long been targeted for its kiss between two boys—and cartoonist Scott McCloud. The two created posters and bookmarks to commemorate the week—which nearly coincides with the April 1 release of their joint graphic novel The Cartoonists Club (Graphix), which emphasizes the magic created by school librarians when they bring children together.
“I’m thrilled to be a cochair of National Library Week, because I know the importance of kids and communities gathering to share their individual types of creativity and inspire each other," Telgemeier said in a statement. “Libraries help so many people to find their unique talents.” McCloud added: “Raina and I are excited to show readers how stories and art can bring people together, and libraries are critical to that process—now more than ever.”
National Library Week programming kicks off on Monday with Right to Read Day, when readers and other library advocates are urged to take action to protect, defend, and celebrate the right to read and to the librarians who uphold it. The ALA will also release its annual State of America’s Libraries report, which includes a list of the top 10 most challenged books last year. This year, the ALA’s United Against Book Bans initiative is calling Right to Read Day a “Drawn to Freedom” event, and, among other suggested actions, is urging people to create and share drawings, videos, or other art to celebrate the freedoms they find in libraries.
The week will continue on Tuesday with National Library Workers Day, which recognizes the contributions of library employees. Wednesday, which previously was slotted as National Bookmobile Day, has been renamed National Library Outreach Day, celebrating the community outreach provided by libraries and the library professionals who perform such services. National Library Week celebrations will wind up on Thursday with Take Action for Libraries Day, when readers and advocates are urged to rally in support of libraries.
This is the 67th year that the ALA has marked National Library Week. The first National Library Week, in 1958 was cosponsored by the ALA and the American Book Publishers organization—the predecessor to today’s Association of American Publishers—with the tagline, “Wake Up and Read!”
