Column by STEVEN THOMASApril 14-20 is National Library Week, with the theme of Communities Matter @ Your Library.
First held in 1958, National Library Week is sponsored by the American Library Association and libraries across the country each April.
It’s a time to celebrate the contributions of libraries and librarians as well as to promote library use and support.
Public libraries continue to play an enormous role in our communities and in our nation as a whole.
For example, did you know:
- Reference librarians in the nation’s public and academic libraries answer nearly 6.6 million questions weekly. Standing single file, the line of questioners would span from Ocean City, Md. to Juneau, AK.
- Nationwide, nearly nine out of 10 libraries now offer eBooks. Our local library has approximately 1,000 eBook titles in our collection across all genres, which have been checked out about 6,000 times since we went live in May of 2012.
- There are more public libraries than McDonald’s restaurants in the U.S. – a total of 16,766 including branches. At the same time, though, Americans spend nearly three times as much on candy as they do on public libraries.
- A 2012 poll conducted for the American Library Association found that 94 percent of respondents agreed that public libraries play an important role in giving everyone a chance to succeed because they provide free access to materials and resources.
This year, we will kick off National Library Week 1:30-2:30 p.m., April 14 with a special series of story times about books and libraries.
All ages are welcome, although 0 to 5 year olds must have a caregiver with them. Story times will occur every 15 minutes.
Contact Youth Services at 662-8258 for more information.
Wednesday, April 17 from 5:30-8:30 p.m., the Library will feature another installment of its weekly game night. Come and join the staff for an evening of games and lots of social interaction with other community members.
At 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 18, the library will feature its Poetry Potluck, where everyone is invited to read a poem, share some food and celebrate National Poetry Month – as well as National Library Week!
Also on Thursday, April 18 at 6:30 p.m., the White Rock Library will feature the latest installment of its Family Friendly Film Series, which is shown at the White Rock Town Hall.
Other notable library programming happening over the next two weeks will include the latest installation of our Authors Speak series at 7 p.m. April 25, with David Grant Noble. Noble is a writer, editor, and photographer living in Santa Fe. He has long studied the Southwest’s history and archaeology and traveled widely to photograph ruins, rock art, and landscape. He will discuss his books and photography.
Fom 3:45- 5:30p.m., also on April 25, the Youth Services program will feature its latest gathering of Club Anime for ages 14+. This month, Kite Remastered will be discussed by the group.
As always, you can read more about library events at the website: http://www.losalamosnm.us/library. Or, you can check us out on our new Facebook page to get more information about what’s going on at your public library.
Starting in May and lasting for 6-8 weeks, a project will kick off that will renovate and improve the front drive of the library and its book-drop area. The primary reason for the project is to increase the safety for patrons (and especially children) entering the building.
Here’s what will be happening starting in May:
- The road in front of the library will be changed to a one-way road routed from Oppenheimer Drive toward Fuller Lodge.There will be a new larger book-drop will be installed, which will improve customer service because our current smaller one frequently fills to capacity during busy times.
- Sidewalks approaching the library will be expanded and new crosswalks will be installed.
- Additional landscaping space will be created.
Additional information about this project will be coming out over the next several weeks. Stay tuned for more details!
