It’s National Library Week and we have a challenge for you! On March 14th the current United States regime issued an executive order aimed at gutting public libraries, museums, and their collections. They have been under attack for a long time as one of the only free spaces remaining in our capitalist society. And especially in recent years with book bans increasing and librarians being let go in masse. It’s the perfect time to support your local library! And supporting them is good for you! So here’s our library week challenge for you…
Day One: Get, or get out, that library card.
If you don’t have a library card, go get one! It’s free. Usually you will need an ID and proof of residence in that city. But not always, and your local librarian would be happy to help.
And if you already have a library card, take a picture with it. Post it somewhere with one thing you appreciate about the library! This is the most important part of the library week challenge. Libraries need to show the cities that they are in that people are utilizing the library and signing up for, or using, cards.
Day Two: Download the app and rent something!
There’s a very good chance that your library uses an app. One where you can rent audiobooks and even sometimes movies and other things! You can check your local libraries website for all the things that they offer digitally.
Our library uses the Libby app and we enjoy listening to audiobooks through it.
Day Three: Talk about the library!
*Check out the summer programs and see if there would be any your family would be interested in.
*Ask a friend to meet up at the library.
*Talk to someone about the library.
*Share about the library week challenge
*Considering sharing one of their social media posts, or interacting with several of them.
*If there’s a library foundation or group like friends of the library that you can follow on social media, follow them. And consider donating!
Day Four: Go rent things for the library week challenge!
Check out the library! Go rent a whole bunch of books. Even if you won’t be able to read all of them, or are interested in reading all of them, before they’re due back. Renting things contributes to the libraries number of users, number of rentals, and other statistics that they need to continue running.
Day Five: Email all your reps
Type up a simple paragraph about how your family utilized the library this week. Let them know that you appreciate the library. And that you would appreciate that they put their support behind your local libraries and museums.
It’s as simple as that!
Don’t know who your reps are, or how to contact them? Check out this resource.
What would you add to the library week challenge?!
Libraries are wonderful hubs of information, knowledge, and imagination. They’re community centers. Your local library wants to be of service to the city it’s in!
Historically, the people that ban and burn books are not remembered as being on the right side of history. There’s always a good, and moral, reason for the attacks of course. But it never, ever, holds up. Usually because the good reason is more about power and influence than morality. Books can indeed have a powerful influence on us, if they didn’t they wouldn’t ever be considered a danger. But rather than fear that influence, I would encourage parents and caregivers to embrace the positive power that books can have. Read books WITH kids, with friends even! And discuss them! If there’s something you don’t want them to read, explain why. And help point them towards books you want to read together. Books, and therefor libraries, are an essential foundation in a free society.
If we want a free society with an educated electorate, we must uphold the right to a public education and local library access.
Check out these related articles before you go…
*Why get a library card?
*Vouchers are a scam
*The surprising positive of book bans
*Picture books about ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ and the author
*What to Know About the Dogman Books before the Movie