HomeNational Library Week to feature first ever National Library Wo

Contact: Jennifer Grady or Deborah Davis
312/280-2424 or 312/280-2148
 jgrady@ala-apa.org or dedavis@ala.org 

For Immediate Release
March 2, 2004 

National Library Week to feature first-ever National Library Workers Day

CHICAGO - The Allied Professional Association of the American Library Association (ALA-APA) will sponsor the first-ever National Library Workers Day on Tuesday, April 20, during ALA-sponsored National Library Week (April 18-24). The purpose is to recognize all library workers, including librarians, support staff and others who make library service possible every day.

National Library Workers Day was established by a resolution passed by the ALA-APA Council during the ALA Conference in Toronto in June 2003.

The message of National Library Workers Day is "Libraries Work Because We Do" and libraries are also invited to use the slogan "We work @ your library®" to tie into ALA’s Campaign for America’s Libraries. Libraries may customize the first slogan by adding the library’s name to the beginning, e.g., Freedom Public Library Works Because We Do.

Libraries are encouraged to use National Library Workers Day to focus on individuals 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 website; and for other elements of library service.

New customizable tools and materials to help libraries promote National Library Workers Day will be available on the ALA-APA Web site at www.ala-apa.org the first week in March.

These include a proclamation, sample letter-to-the-editor, op-ed article, radio PSAs and sample press release. Also posted are programming ideas, such as employee recognition days and "behind the scenes" tours of the library.

This year, National Library Workers Day also coincides with Equal Pay Day, established by the National Committee on Pay Equity (NCPE), a coalition of national organizations to which ALA belongs. Because libraries are staffed predominately by women, 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.

Press materials, programming suggestions and display ideas to help promote National Library Week can be found on the Campaign for America’s Libraries Web site  in both English and Spanish. Click on the National Library Week icon. The site includes a link to National Library Week products available from ALA Graphics, including a poster, bookmark and CD of customizable artwork.

Librarians can also find a summary of publicity ideas submitted by public, school, and academic libraries nationwide for this year’s Scholastic Library Publishing/Grolier National Library Week Grant. The winner of this year’s award was the St. Mary Parish Library in Franklin, La. The library will be awarded $5000 from Scholastic for its National Library Week proposal entitled "do some thing @ your library," promoting Equity of Access throughout its rural community.