ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


290 IC & R L New s ■ March 2001

C o l l e g e  & R e s e a r c h  L i b r a r i e s  Nsew

Join the Campaign 
for America’s Libraries

Celebrate National Library Week @ your library

by Sara G roves

A cademic and college and research librar­ies are encouraged to participate in Na­
tional Library Week (April 1­
7, 2001), w hich will kick off 
the public launch o f the Cam­
paign for America’s Libraries.
The Campaign is ALA’s new  
five-year public education ef­
fort to rem ind p eo p le about 
the value o f libraries an d  li­
brarians in the 21st century.

The them e for National Li­
brary W eek 2001 is @ your 
library™, w hich is also the um ­
brella brand for the campaign.
National Library Week will fea­
ture a national kickoff event 
and a host of local events to 
introduce the @ your library™ 
them e to the public.

“National Library Week is a 
perfect time to launch the Cam­
paign for America’s Libraries to 
o u r com m unities,” said ALA 
President Nancy Kranich. “Na­
tional Library Week is our na­
tional holiday—a time to cel­
ebrate and rem ind everyone 
about our various programs, 
services, and technologies. It’s 
also a time to say ‘Come see 
w hat’s new  at your library.”’

The cam paign kickoff will be designed to 
introduce the campaign, attract m edia atten­

tion, and begin the process o f re­
minding consum ers that libraries 
are dynamic, m odern community 
centers for learning, research, in­
formation, an d  entertainment.

“As the ALA’s largest division, 
ACRL and its 11,000 m em bers are 
a key p art o f telling the story of 
A m erica’s libraries,” said Betsy 
Wilson, president o f ACRL. “And 
w e are really o n  the cutting edge 
for the cam paign’s main ideas: li­
b ra rie s  are c h a n g in g  a n d  d y ­
namic, they are places o f o p p o r­
tunity an d  achievement, and they 
connect yo u  to a w orld of ideas. 
The cam paign offers exciting o p ­
portunities to bring all libraries 
to the forefront of o u r users’ co n ­
sciousness.”

To illustrate an d  personalize 
the campaign themes, libraries are 
encouraged to identify a local “ce­
lebrity” campaign chairperson (or 
chairpersons) for their individual 
library o r library o rg an izatio n  
w ho em bodies the spirit and prin­
ciples o f today’s libraries.

Libraries are urged to present 
their cam paign chair w ith a giant

A bout the auth or

Sara Groves is coordinator of ALA‘s Campaign for America's Libraries, e-mail: sgroves@ala.org



C& RL N ew s ■ M arch 2001 / 291

@ your library™ card at a special event. A 
template with artwork for this card is avail­
able on the campaign Web site at http://
w w w .ala.org/@ yourlibrary, under “Na­
tional Library W eek.” The Web site also 
offers a range of ideas for organizing a local 
campaign launch.

Ideal candidates for campaign chairs are 
people who have benefited from their ex­
periences at the library, such as a celeb ­
rity originally/currently from your commu­
nity, your college or university president, 
a popular faculty member or dean, the stu­
dent body president or the editor of your 
college or university newspaper, a non­
traditional student who has returned to 
school after a long hiatus, or someone who 
has a story about how the library has made 
a difference in his or her life.

Libraries also may want to use National 
Library Week as a time to focus on the ALA’s 
five key action areas— 21st-century literacy, 
diversity, education and continuous learning, 
equity of access, and intellectual freedom. 
Programs, events, and displays can highlight 
these ideas throughout the week. Program­
ming suggestions for each of these five key 
action areas are discussed below.

2 1 s t -c e n t u r y  lit e r a c y
Highlight your library’s efforts to advance 
literacy in all forms, including “informa­
tion literacy.”

• W h ole w ide w o rld  @ y o u r lib ra ry :
Take out ads in your campus paper about 
technology resources and programming at 
your library that can help your users get 
connected to the wide world o f informa­
tion. Promote Internet access and Internet 
classes, online catalogs, databases, and 
other resources that can help users get 
connected.

• Y o u r fin al a n sw e r @ y o u r lib ra ry : 
Host a “library bow l” (akin to a college 
bowl) or a scavenger hunt where students 
divide into teams and have to find infor­
mation by using all the resources of your 
library. The librarian serves as the expert/ 
moderator o f the event.

D i v e r s it y
Demonstrate that the library has resources 
for everyone on campus and that its col­
lections reflect many voices, cultures, and 
languages.

• M any fa ce s, m a n y  v o ice s @ y o u r li­
b ra ry : Invite international students to dis-

Participate in the ca m p aign

This is an historic moment for libraries 
and librarians. ALA has made a five-year 
commitment to speak loudly and clearly 
about the value o f libraries and librar­
ians in our information society.

T h e  g o a l o f  th e  C a m p a ig n  fo r 
A m erica’s Libraries is to captu re the 
p u blic’s imagination about the critical 
importance o f libraries and librarians in 
the information age. We will work to in­
crease funding, attract talented people to 
the p ro fe ssio n , and in flu e n ce  pu blic 
policy.

This is y o u r  campaign. In a 1999 ALA 
survey, members stated, “ALA needs to 
do more to educate the public about the 
value o f libraries and librarians.” Now, 
to be successful, w e need every library 
and every librarian to participate.

We are asking you to join us in this new 
public education campaign by:

• using the campaign brand, @ your 
library™, on your publicity materials and 
integrating it into new and existing pro­
grams;

• displaying and using ALA Graphics @ 
your library™ promotional items in your li­
brary and beyond; and

• advocating for your library by adapt­
ing ALA’s campaign messages for your own 
use.

More detailed information about our 
campaign is available on the ALA Web site 
at http://www.ala.org/©yourlibrary.

The Campaign for America’s Libraries is 
an unprecedented opportunity for our diverse 
profession to come together and speak with 
a unified voice. We encourage every library  
to adopt and use the @ your library™ brand 
and become actively involved in the Cam­
paign for America’s Libraries. Working to­
gether, we can and will make a difference.

http://www.ala.org/@yourlibrary
http://www.ala.org/%c2%a9yourlibrary


292 / C&RL N ew s ■ M arch 2001

play books, dress, food, and music from their 
home countries. Invite a local theater or dance 
troupe to perform. Host book readings, lec­
tures, and/or art exhibits that focus on differ­
ent cultures and populations.

• P ictu re th is @ y o u r lib rary : Create 
a photo display celebrating the history and 
diversity of your college and research li­
brary community. Include archive materi­
als or work with your local historical soci­
ety to showcase the development of your 
college or university.

E d u c a t io n  a n d  c o n t in u o u s  
le a r n in g
Communicate that the library is a place 
for self-help and lifelong learning.

• Set y o u r sites! @ y o u r lib rary : Cre­
ate lists of useful Web sites that can help 
foster continuous learning for every library 
user. Examples include sites for job seek­
ers, students who are applying to law or

medical schools, students who are pursu­
ing graduate education or postdoctoral op­
portunities, vegetarian students, or students 
who are looking for summer employment 
overseas or in a national park, etc.

• Fin d  fre e  m o n e y  @ y o u r lib rary:
Host a scholarship search seminar with a 
financial aid officer and showcase books, 
videos, magazines, CDs, and Web sites that 
help students learn about scholarship 
money that applies to their situation.

E q u it y  o f  a c c e s s
Show how your library helps bridge the 
digital divide.

• S om eth in g fo r ev e ry o n e  @ y o u r li
b ra ry : Showcase the variety o f resources 
your library provides, including laptop 
connectivity throughout the library or high­
end equipment for students to produce re­
sumes, newsletters, digital art, and pho­
tography. Highlight alternative ways o f ac­

cessing the information you offer, such as 
talking computers with scanners, on-screen 
or freestanding magnifiers, multilingual 
software, or accessible Web sites. Offer to 
host multilingual computer classes. High­
light the accessibility of your library to 
people with disabilities. Offer information 
on the Americans with Disability Act and 
other disability rights legislation to supple­
ment your efforts.

In t e lle c t u a l fr e e d o m
Communicate that the library makes infor­
mation available to everyone and provides 
a forum for expressing all points of view.

• F reed o m  to read , h ear, view , th in k  
@ y o u r library: Create a display of banned 
books, banned recordings or films, and au­
thors whose works have been banned over 
the course o f the last century.

• T h e c h o i c e  is y o u r s  @ y o u r  
library: Invite members of school groups or

professors who are 
co n cern e d  with 
free e xp ressio n  
and free access to 
ideas to speak on 
the history of cen­
sorship or mod­
ern-day censorship 
issues.

A d d i t i o n a l  
programming suggestions for each of these 
five key action areas are featured on the 
campaign’s Web site at http://www.ala. 
org/@yourlibrary. Additional tools for Na­
tional Library Week, including PSAs, op­

 eds, letters to the editor, and downloadable 
graphics are also available on the cam­
paign’s Web site.

The Web site, which is part of the “liv­
ing campaign,” also features general in­
formation on how to get involved in the 
campaign, including suggestions on how 
to use the logo, key messages, talking 
points, programming ideas, and more. Li­
braries can also sign up for the campaign 

­ and join an e-mail newsletter to be the first 
to receive campaign news and updates.

For more information about The Campaign 
for America’s Libraries, or to tell ALA your 
library  is participating in the campaign, call 
(866)-4LIBRA RY  or send an e-m ail to 
atyourlibrary@ala.org. ■

http://www.ala
mailto:atyourlibrary@ala.org


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