Searching for gifts for the book lovers in your life (or yourself) this holiday season? The American Library Association (ALA) has you covered, with everything from buttons, stickers, totes, and shirts proclaiming library love to posters featuring celebs and authors with their favorite books to journals and more.
Let’s get started!
As book bans and challenges increase throughout the U.S., let everyone know that you support the freedom to read with a Unite Against Book Bans shirt or hoodie. Available in men's and women’s sizes and in a variety of colors.
Libraries ARE weird! In all of the best ways: They filled with incredible amounts of knowledge on just about everything and spaces to build, learn, gather, and be yourself. These shirts (available in men's and women's sizes in multiple colors) from the Public Library Association's 2022 National Conference in Portland, Oregon, express how we feel about libraries in a perfectly succinct way.
We can ALL read more books. Spread the word in these snazzy unisex pajamas or with this adorable plush dog for the young reader (or reader to be) in your life.
Inspire early literacy while letting everyone know that your baby is on track to be a voracious reader with this very cute "Born to Read" bib.
Show your support for libraries—and your love of tattoos—with this classy mug emblazoned with a traditional tattoo design with a library twist.
With fake news, book bans, and other dystopian assaults on personal liberties on the rise in recent years, tell everyone where you stand with this truly sharp "Make Orwell Fiction Again" shirt, available in men's and women's sizes and in multiple colors.
*If you order any of the above shirts, totes, and more from the ALA Graphics Gift Shop from November 26 to December 2, you can take 15% off your order, plus free shipping! That's right—they're having a sale! Don't miss out!
ALA's Celebrity READ posters are iconic. Some of the world’s best-known faces have lent their support to the simple but powerful message—READ—on this prestigious line of posters. Everyone from David Bowie to Stephen Hawking to Taylor Swift to Yoda have appeared on these posters while holding their favorite books.
READ posters are the perfect gift for any book lover. Here are a few of our recent favorites.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Actress and singer Idina Menzel (Frozen, Wicked)
NBA star and author Tacko Fall
Actress Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians, Fresh Off the Boat)
Actor and author Channing Tatum (Magic Mike, Foxcatcher)
The Child from Star Wars: The Mandalorian
ALA Editions and Neal-Schuman also have a plethora of books, journals, and more for your holiday giving. We're especially wowed by these.
Read These Banned Books: A Journal and 52-Week Reading Challenge from the American Library Association is a must-read challenge for book lovers and literary activists to explore.
This interactive recommended reading list presents readers with a different banned or challenged book to explore each week. The perfect gift for all bibliophiles and social justice activists, this journal is far more than a simple list of reads. Each recommended title features a synopsis, review, and prompt for reflection, drawing on the expertise of editors from the association and its book review magazine Booklist, delving into why the book was censored. The titles span categories and genres, from fantasy and graphic novel to nonfiction and romance, but all have been challenged or banned at some point.
Published in partnership with Sourcebooks.
Uncommon Quotes for Library Lovers includes 100 of the most insightful, thought-provoking, and uplifting aphorisms about books, the joy of reading, intellectual freedom, and librarianship. You’ll find quotes from authors such as Celeste Ng, Suheir Hammad, Azar Nafisi, Junot Díaz, and Ta-Nehisi Coates; entertainers like Ziggy Marley and Stephen Colbert; and leaders such as Malala Yousafzai—all highlighting the impact of libraries and librarians.
Fewer activities are more relaxing than taking crayons, pens, or colored pencils in hand to add a personalized splash of color to the pages in a coloring book. Peppered throughout Well Said: The Library Lovers Coloring Book of Quotes are inspiring quotes about literature, libraries, and library workers that will encourage and invigorate.
Thanks for giving the gift of literacy, learning, and library love! Happy holidays from everyone at I Love Libraries!
Feature image photo by Sabina Sturzu on Unsplash.
