Libraries = Strong Communities is a national advocacy effort aimed at highlighting the value of academic, public, and school libraries. Follow the hashtag #LibrariesStrong on social media to keep up with the Libraries = Strong Communities tour and related events.
Graduation is nine months away. Seniors at Kensington High School hope that will give them enough time to finish creating their parting gift to students:
A library.
#FundLibraries advocacy succeeds at protecting vital programs
We have crossed the finish line for funding in 2019! The spending deal (H.R. 6157) has been signed. We are so grateful for all of the library advocates who made this possible!
When the new fiscal year begins, IMLS will have an additional $2 million towards grant programs and research. Grants funded through the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) will continue to receive level funding. Libraries will also benefit from programs administered by the Dept of Education, many of which received increases that will open doors to #FundLibraries in schools.
Here's another idea for libraries hoping to engage in voter outreach efforts this fall! On District Dispatch, the Fair Elections Center discusses how you can encourage patrons to become poll workers.
Several library organizations and advocacy groups, including the American Library Association and ReadersFirst, have come out against Tor’s embargo. In a phone interview with io9, ALA president Loida Garcia Febo expressed her concerns that it could mean more trouble for libraries and their relationships with publishers, taking into account how hard they had to fight to get e-book access in the first place. She also said how unfortunate it is that the embargo is targeting sci-fi and fantasy readers, given how dedicated and passionate they are about the written word.
People Visited Public Libraries More Than a Billion Times in 2015
- Nearly 311 million Americans lived within a public library service area in 2015, an increase from 306 million in 2014.
- In 2015, there were 1.39 billion visits to public libraries, or 4.48 visits per person.
- Public libraries offered 4.7 million programs in 2015, attended by nearly 107 million people, 5 million more attendees than the previous year.
- Public libraries made 1.31 billion collection items available to patrons and provided access to over a quarter million internet computers.
- The number of electronic materials available through public libraries, including audio, video and e-books, continued to grow. E-books, especially, have seen significant growth, increasing from 0.04 e-book per person in 2006 to just over one e-book per person in 2015.