Lash Mob Freeze frame: Celebration of National Library Week

Here's a fun way to celebrate National Library Week, April 10-16, 2011.
All communities could do this!  Public and school libraries.



From American Libraries Direct: "Becky Plimpton, director of the Joshua Hyde Public Library in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, brought together about 75 people at the Holyoke Mall April 10 for a freeze mob session promoting National Library Week. Just after 4:20 p.m., the group took a spot and froze in place with book in hand (or on the floor) for five minutes."

School Library Media Month - April 2010

School Library Media Month is using the same theme as National Library Week: "Communities Thrive @ Your Library". This year's SLMM spokesperson is award-winning author, Laurie Halse Anderson. The American Association of School Librarians has created activities for promoting school libraries during the month.

One activity is a video contest for AASL members. Here are the details:

• School library media specialists (teacher librarians) are encouraged to submit videos to the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) detailing how they help their school community "thrive." This is an opportunity for school library media specialists to be creative and share why they are essential to their school community. The winning video will be featured on the AASL Web site, AASL social networking platforms, and possible feature and recognition at AASL conferences. Entries will be vetted by AASL and the top three will be judged by the entire AASL member community starting March 8, 2010.

• Suggested focus
  AASL encourages creativity. Entries may include an interview with members of a school community, a typical day in the life of a school library media specialist, or a short skit on why school library media specialists are essential to a school community.

  Submission process
  Entries should be submitted to AASL by March 1, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. CST. Please include your AASL membership ID with your submission. All videos must be accompanied by a signed video/photo release form from each person featured in the video. Videos should be no more than 3 minutes. Only WMV, RealVideo and QuickTime formatted files will be accepted.

  Additional Rules
  This contest is open to AASL members only. All entries over 3 minutes will be disqualified.

California members may want to use the definition of a strong school library when they create their 3 minute (max) video on "Communities Thrive @ Your Library". For example, School communities thrive when your school library has:

• A full time, certified school Teacher Librarian and a fulltime paraprofessional working as a team. This allows the teacher librarian to collaborate with teachers in co-designing instruction which incorporates information literacy into the curriculum.
  

• Lots of carefully selected books, databases, and other learning resources. Resources must reflect the school curriculum and student recreational reading needs.
  

• A program which provides instruction and activities for students to use the research process in finding the information they need. Research is a process, not an end product – it is the thinking process which the students benefit from, not the ultimate "find." The "find" is generally forgotten – while the process remains with them forever.
  

• Technology, including hardware, software, and networking that form a virtual library without walls linking students to the world of information, a cybrary that fully supports the school curriculum, 24/7.
  

• Its doors open before, during and after school hours, with liberal circulation policies. This means access to the school library, its resources, and staff.

National Library Week 2010 - PSA

The American Library Association has issued a press release about a library PR tool for National Library Week:

CHICAGO – To promote National Library Week 2010, a free customizable public service announcement (PSA) featuring award-winning author Neil Gaiman is now available.

Gaiman, the 2009 Newberry Medal winner for "The Graveyard Book," will appear in both a print and a radio public service announcement (PSA). Gaiman’s love of libraries and librarians is no secret, as his many fans and Twitter followers know.

The PSA can be downloaded for free at www.ala.org/nlw. The PSA reminds library users of all the resources the library offer and how libraries are of key importance in tough economic times. To have the PSA customized with their library’s logo, librarians are asked to send a print quality logo file, their library name and URL to: ala@atigraphics.com. The PSA will be sent to the library in 1-2 weeks.

Other materials are currently available in both English and Spanish, focusing on the 2010 National Library Week theme “Communities thrive @ your library.” They include a proclamation, sample press release and letter-to-the-editor, as well as scripts for use in radio public service announcements (PSAs). Libraries can download materials at www.ala.org/nlw.

Libraries planning to participate in “Communities thrive @ your library”-themed programming are encouraged to share their stories with the Campaign for America’s Libraries, by sending an e-mail to: atyourlibrary@ala.org.

ALA Graphics products supporting the “Communities thrive” theme are also available. In addition to the 2010 National Library Week poster and bookmark, libraries can also purchase mini poster and, new this year, a downloadable transit sign. National Library Week-themed Web files along with all Graphics products can be purchased through the ALA Store at www.alastore.ala.org/nlw.

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.

The Campaign for America’s Libraries (www.ala.org/@yourlibrary), ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe - use the Campaign’s @ your library® brand. The Campaign is made possible by ALA’s Library Champions, corporations and foundations that advocate the importance of the library in American society.

National Library Week - 2009

April 12-18, 2009 is National Library Week, an annual celebration of libraries and librarians. This year's theme is "Worlds connect @ your library."

Each year, a famous celebrity chairs the celebration. This year, New York Times best selling author and actress Jamie Lee Curtis is the Honorary Chair of National Library Week 2009. The American Library Association has created downloadable print and radio public service announcements (PSA), sample letters-to-editors, press releases, proclamations and more. For more information, contact NLW Campaign Coordinator Megan McFarlane.