It’s Take Action for Libraries Day, observed on the Thursday of National Library Week each year. To celebrate and advocate for libraries and library funding, we want every library lover to make their voices heard today. Here are 10 ways you can act fast.
Bookmobiles are a large component of library outreach—in fact, National Library Outreach Day was first called National Bookmobile Day. In honor of the bookmobile and its vital role in helping to get books and library materials to everyone, especially those unable to directly access their local library, we have a look at its history from the American Library Association Archives.
Sponsored by the National Book Committee, Inc., and in cooperation with the American Library Association, the first National Library Week was launched March 16–22, 1958. Citing a 1957 survey showing that only 17% of Americans polled were reading a book, the inaugural National Library Week slogan was “Wake Up and Read!”
In March 2022, the American Library Association (ALA) announced a new project in partnership with the Association for Rural & Small Libraries, under ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities initiative, to expand support for hundreds of small and rural libraries across the country.
It’s National Library Week, the weeklong celebration of the important role libraries and library workers play in schools and communities across the United States. It also marks the release of ALA’s 2026 State of America’s Libraries Report and the highly anticipated Top 11 Most Challenged Books List.
This National Library Week, we are invited to “Find Your Joy.” The joy found in libraries isn’t incidental. Library joy is built intentionally, collectively, and often against the odds.
For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Donna Seamna’s review of “The War Within a War: The Black Struggle in Vietnam and at Home” by Wil Haygood.
Belén (N.M.) Public Library was awarded two rounds of grant funding via ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities initiative. Those dollars have helped the library reach its goal of becoming a safe place for everyone—including those with mobility disabilities, low vision or blindness, hearing loss, and those who are neurodivergent.
This National Library Week, celebrated April 19-25, we want to know: What brings you library joy? Show us with your original creative work and you could win a $150 VISA gift card or an ALA READ poster!
For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, ALA’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Philip Zozzaro’s review of Kaitlyn Regehr’s “Smartphone Nation: Building Digital Boundaries When Offline Isn’t an Option,” first published November 4, 2025, on Booklist Online.
2026 marks the 150th anniversary of the American Library Association (ALA). To kick off the year’s festivities, ALA President Sam Helmick has penned a thoughtful piece on ALA’s anniversary and the year ahead for the Association, ALA members, and library and book lovers everywhere.
Have you not yet seen the award-winning documentary “The Librarians”? Or want to see it again? Then you’re in luck. On January 10, the creators of “The Librarians” are hosting a one-night-only online screening of the film on Kinema, followed by a virtual “Right to Read” rally featuring a conversation with the filmmakers and more.
Booklist’s picks for the 10 best biographies of 2025 feature exceptional individuals who profoundly influenced literature, art, music, entertainment, politics, spycraft, and the long fight for civil rights.
For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, ALA’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Allison Cho’s review of Senaa Ahmad’s “The Age of Calamities,” first published November 6, 2025, on Booklist Online.
Our latest update of book bans and challenges happening across the U.S.—and efforts to stop them—includes news from North Carolina, Florida, and the U.S Supreme Court, as well as a look at PEN America’s recent book ban report.
The giving season is upon us. For those with book and library lovers in their lives, an ALA Supporter Membership is the perfect gift—and it helps our libraries thrive!
For our second installment of weekly book reviews from our friends at Booklist, the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Maryann Owen’s review of Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey’s new seasonal favorite for young readers, “The Old Sleigh,” first published in the November 11, 2025, issue of Booklist.
In episode 28 of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with musician Brian Baker from legendary punk bands Minor Threat, Bad Religion, and more about his new book of photography, “The Road” (Akashic Books, 2025), the legacy of punk rock, book bans, and, of course, how he libraries.
“The Librarians,” filmmaker Kim A. Snyder’s acclaimed documentary about librarians in Texas, Florida, and other states who unite to combat book banning in the United States, is one of several docs in the running for the Cinema Eye Honor’s Audience Choice Award. And you can help it win by voting online.
The Newbery, Caldecott, Coretta Scott King, Printz, and more. The 2026 ALA Youth Media Award honorees have been announced. Check out the books young readers will be talking about all year.
For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Kaitlin Conner’s review of the audiobook of “Finding My Way,” written and read by Malala Yousafzai, first published January 1, 2026, in Booklist.
The annual announcement of the American Library Association’s Youth Media Awards is the biggest event of the year in the world of children’s publishing—and you can be there this January 26.
Award-winning author, journalist, essayist, and frequent I Love Libraries contributor Raj Tawney will release his first collection of essays, “Better the Next Day: On Food, Family, and the Memories We Leave Behind,” in fall 2027.
Libraries and schools across the country are experiencing unprecedented levels of attempts to ban or remove books from their shelves. I Love Libraries will continue to raise awareness by highlighting attempts to censor library materials, as well as efforts by librarians, parents, students, and concerned citizens to push back against them. This update includes news from Utah, Texas, and Ohio.
For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Sarah Hunter’s review of “Wake Now in the Fire,” written by Jarrett Dapier and illustrated by AJ Dungo, first published January 16, 2026, on Booklist Online.
Milwaukee Public Library’s social media presence is famous beyond the library world. We went behind the scenes with the duo responsible for their videos.
In episode 29 of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with Thien Ho, District Attorney of Sacramento County, California, whose new book, “The People vs. the Golden State Killer” (Third State Books, 2025), documents the hunt for and prosecution of serial killer Joseph DeAngelo, aka the Golden State Killer.
Did anyone else see that Celebrity READ® poster from the American Library Association in the new season of Stranger Things?!
For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, ALA’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Philip Zozzaro’s review of Kaitlyn Regehr’s “Smartphone Nation: Building Digital Boundaries When Offline Isn’t an Option,” first published November 4, 2025, on Booklist Online.
