National Librarian Day

Books and information can act as an entry point into a whole new world of learning, growing, planning and dreaming. And the librarians who keep this information organized are critical to the process.

National Librarian Day celebrates these dedicated workers who take each day as an opportunity to make the world a better, more educated, enlightened and delightful place!

History of National Librarian Day

Libraries can be traced back for many centuries, when they were originally used to store and organize collections of documents. Around the 8th century BC, a wealthy king of Assyria created a library and he was the first person in history to introduce the concept of librarians or “keepers of books”.

Sometime after 323 BC, the Great Library of Alexandria was established for Greek literature and its librarians were also famous scholars. Moving forward in time, from Humphrey Chetham, who started the first public reference library in England, to Benjamin Franklin who was instrumental in starting several libraries when the US got its start, libraries have continued to be a vital part of the world in the past and going forward.

National Librarian Day got its start in 1958 when it was sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA). The day wasn’t celebrated every year, though, until 2004 when it got a resurgence. It was then that the ALA revived National Librarian Day as part of a campaign to raise awareness for the appreciation of library staff. The day is now celebrated annually as a way to celebrate the work that librarians do as well as educating the local community about the importance and necessity of these folks.

Those who want to be sure the librarians in their lives are celebrated might also consider National Library Workers Day, which coincides with National Library Week.

How to Celebrate National Librarian Day

Take some time this day to remember how important librarians are to supply information and support education of people all over the world! Consider some of these ways of celebrating National Librarian Day:

Show Appreciation to a Librarian

Whether it means stopping by the local public library and thanking the staff behind the desk, or sending a card of appreciation to the librarian at the kids’ school, National Librarian Day is a great time to go the extra mile and thank someone who works in the library industry.

Make a Donation

Part of the desire of raising awareness about the importance of librarians is to help support local library staff with better resources and wages. National Librarian Day would be a great time to make a financial donation to the local library or, even better, sign up to be a regular support patron.

Those who aren’t able to give a financial donation might still support the library by donating gently-used or new books to the library, helping to offset the cost of the need to buy new books. Children’s books are especially desired at many local and school libraries.