Searching for the perfect presents for the book lovers in your life? We’ve curated some of the coolest posters, accessories, activity books, and more for readers and librarians.

The best part: the profits from all of these items support the American Library Association (ALA)’s efforts to promote equity and access to information for all. Your purchase helps our nation’s libraries get the resources, training, and funding they need to help their communities thrive.

Here are our top gift picks for 2020:

The Child READ® Poster

 

Buy from the ALA Store. 

Well Said: The Library Lover’s Coloring Book of Quotes

 

Buy from the ALA Store. 

R.E.M. READ Poster Puzzle

Buy from the R.E.M. Store. 

“Keep Calm and Read On” Mask

keep-a-stiff-upper-lip-and-read-on.jpg

Buy from the ALA Graphics Gift Shop. 

“Make Orwell Fiction Again” Tote Bag

Buy from the ALA Store. 

This Journal is Overdue

Buy from the ALA Store. 

“I Love My Library” Tattoo Mason Jar

Buy from the ALA Graphics Gift Shop. 

“So Many Books” Poster

Buy from the ALA Store. 

“Carpe Librum” Dog Bandana

Buy from the ALA Graphics Gift Shop. 

“Born to Read” Baby Bodysuit

 

Buy from the ALA Graphics Gift Shop.

To find more great presents for readers, check out these librarian-recommended book lists and the American Libraries gift guide.

For more than thirty years, actors, authors, and musicians have teamed up with the American Library Association’s READ® campaign to promote the joy of literacy. This week, The Mandalorian‘s breakout star The Child-also known as Baby Yoda and Grogu-is joining their ranks with his very own celebrity READ® poster.

Back in the early 1980s, ALA’s Yoda READ® poster graced the walls of libraries and schools across the country, reminding Star Wars fans that The Force is strong in those who read books. Over the years, other franchise fan favorites like C-3PO, R2-D2, and Princess Leia also starred in posters promoting libraries. (Pro tip: while the original Yoda poster is no longer for sale, you can still buy it on shirts, mugs, and notebooks from Out of Print.)

In addition to the poster, you can also purchase bookmarks featuring The Child from the ALA Store. These items make perfect gifts for readers and Star Wars fans of all ages.

The best part? Proceeds from the items’ sales fund the American Library Association’s work supporting for our nation’s libraries. Your purchase helps ALA keep libraries strong through advocacy, grants, and training that promote access to information for all.

The poster and bookmark set featuring The Child are on sale now.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, people everywhere are turning to the web for school, work, and community-but for the 33 million U.S. households without a home internet connection, getting online isn’t so simple. Since lockdown began in March 2020, libraries have gotten creative to promote digital equity and access; supporting the American Library Association (ALA) is a powerful way to ensure that even more people in need can get online.

Americans have long relied on their libraries for access to the internet. When COVID-19 first hit the United States early this year, libraries sprung into action to keep their communities connected even when their doors were closed to the public. Many libraries loaned out mobile hotspot devices to those in need, and an amazing 93% of libraries reported leaving their Wi-Fi on so that people could connect to the internet from their parked cars. Plus, librarians have been sharing their technological expertise with their communities, offering personalized assistance to those who need help navigating digital access during the pandemic.

Throughout this unprecedented year, the American Library Association has been hard at work advocating for libraries to get the resources they need to continue bridging the digital divide. Thanks to ALA and other library advocates, the U.S. Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act included $50 million of funding to the Institute of Museum and Library Services for digital inclusion projects. And looking ahead, ALA will continue to push for a federal COVID relief package that includes much-needed funding for our nation’s libraries.

You can help make internet access for all a reality by donating to ALA. Your gift will support training, resources, and advocacy for libraries to champion digital equity in their communities.

It’s Banned Books Week–the annual celebration of the freedom to read! Books, resources, and programs are still being threatened with censorship in libraries and schools. Thankfully, library workers, educators, and readers are rallying together year-round to protect their communities’ First Amendment rights.

Take a stand against censorship with these cool shirts, mugs, and more from the American Library Association. The best part? All sales support ALA’s work defending and promoting the right to access information.

Here are some of our favorite products:

 

Find Your Freedom to Read Sweatshirt

I Read Banned Books Rainbow Face Mask

Free Your Mind Banned Books Bracelets

Words Have Power Hoodie

Speak Out for Banned Books Buttons

Make Orwell Fiction Again T-Shirt

Make Orwell Fiction Again Tote

Discover What You’re Missing Mug (watch redactions disappear with hot liquid!)

Find even more designs at the ALA Store and ALA Graphics Gift Shop. Free shareable materials are also available on ALA’s Banned Books Week website.

Banned Books Week is here, a time to stand up for everyone’s freedom to read. Librarians, teachers, authors, and more are coming together to push back against censorship-will you join the fight for intellectual freedom?

Even in 2020, schools and libraries still face pressure to remove controversial titles from their bookshelves and reading lists. Materials that deal with important topics like gender, sexuality, race, and mental health are particularly likely to face censorship; eight out of the ten most frequently challenged books of 2019 were targeted for their LGBTQIA+ content. And books aren’t the only resources at risk of censorship in libraries and schools: programs, book displays, and more also attract complaints from patrons who find them objectionable.

Some book challenges are highly public (like when a Tennessee Catholic school made national news for banning the Harry Potter novels), but many slip by under the radar-your library may be facing censorship attempts as we speak. Libraries and educators need support from their communities to help ensure everyone’s freedom to read without judgment or restriction.

There are plenty of ways to join the movement during Banned Books Week and beyond. The #BannedBooksWeek in Action challenge is full of fun, empowering activity suggestions for each day of the week, from writing an op-ed in your local paper to recording a video of yourself reading from a banned book. Participants are encouraged to share what they’re up to on social media using the hashtag #BannedBooksWeek.

You can also get involved by participating in the Dear Banned Author campaign, which invites readers to write letters of support to their favorite banned or challenged authors. For writers facing frequent censorship, these messages are a powerful reminder of how much their words matter. You can reach out via email, social media, or snail mail; the Dear Banned Author webpage is full of free tools like postcard templates and author addresses. Plus, if you share your #DearBannedAuthor story on Twitter during Banned Books Week, you’ll be entered for a chance to win a grab bag of awesome intellectual freedom swag.

Ready to join the celebration? Visit the Banned Books Week website for more information and ideas.

Follow Banned Books Week on Facebook and Twitter for the latest news and updates.

Escape rooms in libraries are popular activities for families, providing free, interactive entertainment for people of all ages. But unfortunately, COVID-19 has put in-person library programs on hold. Some librarians have found creative ways to safely continue the fun during the pandemic, like Sydney Krawiec at Peters Township Public Library in Pennsylvania, who created a Google Doc-based Harry Potter escape room that anyone can play online. Wisconsin’s McMillan Memorial Library has taken a different approach: staff set up a no-touch, outdoor escape room that community members can enjoy while maintaining social distancing.

McMillan started hosting in-person escape rooms back in 2019. Their early efforts-including a Mario-themed escape room and a game based around a janitor’s closet-were a huge hit, so staff had been all set to continue the fun for summer 2020 when the pandemic hit. Still, the McMillan team was determined to find a way to keep their community engaged during COVID, so staffers Karmen Kelly, Alicia Lamont, and Deb Drollinger set about creating a quarantine-friendly escape room.

They found a home for the escape room in a rarely used corridor outside the library, which they’ve decorated using sidewalk chalk. While traditional escape rooms tend to have players manipulate locks and other physical props, this one is touch-free for the safety of participants. Instead, they interact with the game through an online form on their own mobile devices as well as a set of game pieces that they can take home afterward. Their mission? Figure out the relationship between the game pieces and the chalk drawings in the space in order to spell out a word.

 

The McMillan staff based the escape room around the library’s 2020 summer reading theme, Imagine Your Story. “Since all of our stories are now connected through a common COVID thread, we decided to lean into all of the aspects of the pandemic,” Karmen Kelly told I Love Libraries. “The end result encourages the idea that this isn’t the story we would have imagined, but much like the caterpillar in the cocoon, we too can emerge stronger and better than ever. What we do now will allow us to become the proverbial butterfly as we imagine the next chapter of our story.” Fittingly, participants leave the escape room with crafting instructions for how to turn the game pieces they used into a model of a butterfly.

“It’s been such a morale booster for everyone involved, especially when we see the families that get to enjoy our creation,” Kelly shared. “In a world filled with masks, social distancing, fear, and confusion, it brings us so much joy to offer a positive team-building activity for our community to enjoy.”

For more inspiring stories about America’s libraries, subscribe to the I Love Libraries newsletter.

We’re celebrating Library Card Sign-up Month (LCSUM) all September long-it’s an annual reminder that people of all ages can access infinite entertainment and information by registering for a free library card.

Library lovers across the country are joining the festivities by helping spread the word about the value of a library card. Here are a few ways you can participate:

Remind Your Loved Ones to Get Library Cards

Challenge yourself: how many friends, relatives, colleagues, and classmates can you persuade to register for a library card in September? Remind the people in your life that signing up for a library card is free and easy, since many libraries are allowing for online registration during the pandemic. Send them this article highlighting all the coolest benefits of having a library card to help make your case.

Join the Fun on Social Media

Libraries and their supporters are using the hashtag #LibraryCardSignUpMonth on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to help get the word out about the value of a library card. The Library Card Sign-up Month website has tons of sample social media posts and amazing graphics featuring LCSUM Honorary Chair Wonder Woman (!) available for free download.

Strike a Library Card Power Pose

The American Library Association is encouraging everyone to show off their library card superhero pose on social media. Post your pic on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #LibraryCardHero (or share directly to the I Love Libraries Facebook page) by September 22 and you’ll be automatically entered to win a $100 Visa gift card.

Show Off a Library-Themed Yard Sign

Let your neighbors know you’re a proud library card holder with these awesome yard signs from the American Library Association. Pick your favorite sign-options include “library card holders live here” and “in this house, we support libraries”-or design your own, then print and display to jazz up your yard.

Participate in Library Card Sign-up Month Bingo

How many squares on this LCSUM bingo card can you check off in September? It’s chock full of fun challenges to get in the Library Card Sign-up Month spirit, from using your library to access free digital magazines to writing a thank you note to your favorite librarian. Once you’ve hit bingo, show off your card on social media using the hashtag #LibraryCardSignUp.

Visit the Library Card Sign-up Month website for more ways to celebrate.

A New York Times op-ed from sociologist Eric Klinenberg explores libraries how could help ensure a fair and just U.S. election by offering ballot collection boxes for patrons who wish to vote early.

Amid the ongoing pandemic, millions of Americans are planning to vote by mail rather than risk COVID-19 exposure at crowded polling places on Election Day. Still, many are their mail-in ballots may not arrive in time to be counted.

Klinenberg, a professor at New York University and author of Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life, argues that libraries can play an important role.

“Libraries already serve as polling places on Election Day throughout the country and, crucially, they provide secure, monitored ballot boxes where absentee voters can drop off their ballots before Nov. 3 and know that it will count,” he explains in the New York Times. “Secure boxes for absentee ballots are already available at some libraries in states like California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Utah, and Washington. Other states should follow suit.”

Ballot boxes allow voters to personally drop off their ballot in a secure setting all the way up until the polls close on Election Day. They give voters peace of mind, knowing that their ballot won’t encounter any delays or interference on the way to be counted.

America’s thousands of public libraries reach all types of communities and are among our nation’s most-trusted institutions. With that in mind, Klinenberg sees them as the perfect setting for early voting: “Making ballot boxes widely available at libraries and at accessible outdoor places is a safe and inexpensive way for government at all levels to promote our core civic duty.”

For more stories about the importance of libraries, subscribe to the I Love Libraries newsletter.

September is Library Card Sign-up Month-do you have a library card yet? If not, it’s never too late to sign up: people of all ages can benefit from the free resources, media, and programs available at their library.

While many libraries are still closed to the public due to the COVID-19 pandemic, you may still be able to register for a library card online. Then, you can access all kinds of free entertainment and information from the comfort of your home, all while safely maintain social distancing.

Here are a few of the coolest things about having a library card:

Free books galore

From mysteries and graphic novels to cookbooks and biographies, your library has something for readers of all ages and interests. The best part? In addition to physical copies, libraries offer instant online access to free ebooks and audiobooks, which you can download from home with the push of a button.

Movies, music, magazines, and more

Library card holders can check out way more than just books: many libraries also offer free access to streaming video and music as well as online versions of your favorite magazines and newspapers. These resources are great for staying entertained and can save you big money on media subscription fees.

Access to databases and courses

Libraries also offer extensive electronic resources for students, small business owners, job seekers, hobbyists, and lifelong learners. Whether you’re looking for free software to pick up a new language, coding tutorials to boost your resume, or patent records to develop a new invention, your library has free access to amazing databases and classes online.

Big savings on museums and cultural attractions

Some libraries also loan out free or discounted passes to local museums, National Parks, performance venues, and other cultural attractions. While you may not be able to spend time at a planetarium or art gallery during the pandemic, be sure to check out what opportunities are available from your library later on.

Supporting access to information for all

Libraries are among our country’s most democratic institutions, promoting free and open access to information for everyone. Registering for a library card is one of the easiest ways to support this mission, since libraries use their sign-up stats to prove their value to local policymakers and advocate for much-needed funding. When you sign up for a library card, you’re helping demonstrate that today’s libraries are more important than ever.

Visit the Library Card Sign-up Month website for ideas about how to get involved all September long.