ALA Urges American To Enjoy Local Libraries During National Library Week

The American Library Association (ALA) is raising awareness for a week-long event designed to remind all American readers that libraries are places of creativity, learning and community.

The American Library Association is urging all American to take part in National Library Week 2016, which runs through April 16.
Photo Credit: *submitted*

James O'Rourke

04/10/2016 10:59 p.m.

National Library Week 2016 is running through Sunday, April 16, according to a statement from the ALA.

The organization has selected a theme for this year's initiative: Libraries Transform.

Libraries in the 21st century are no longer just place for books, but places where people can use 3D printers, edit video or use software to record their own music, according to the ALA.

"Libraries offer access to the tools, technology and training essential to the economic and cultural lives of their communities," the group said in a statement.

Award-winning graphic novelist Gene Luen Yang is the week's honorary chair, according to the ALA. Luen Yang, the 2016-2017 national ambassador for Young People's Literature, wrote a graphic novel "American Born Chinese" that was the first graphic novel to become a finalist for the National Book Award. It was the first to win the American Library Association's Printz Award, according to the ALA.

The ALA suggests two main ways to celebrate National Library Week.

First, people are urged to visit their local library. Second, those on social media are urged to show their support.using the hashtags #NLW16 and #LibrariesTransform.

Learn more about National Library Week. The week also is being celebrated on Facebook and on Twitter.

Click here to follow Daily Voice Clarkstown and receive free news updates.