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Advocacy Alerts!

2021 Executive Budget Proposal

Governor Cuomo released his FY2021-2022 Executive Budget proposal. For the fifth straight year, he has proposed to reduce funding for our libraries.

From the Governor’s Executive Budget Proposal:

Library Aid: $87M The proposed funding is 7.5% less than what was in last year’s enacted state budget. This proposed CUT fails to acknowledge the crucial role libraries serve in our communities, and the contributions they make to our state’s education system.

Library Construction Aid: $14M The State Library Construction Aid program was reduced by $20M last year. The remaining $14M is less than 1% of the community need. The State Division of Library Development estimates that library renovation and construction needs are $1.6B statewide. Over 50% of public libraries in NYS are 60+ years old, and an additional 31% are 30+ years old. Investment in the Library Construction Aid program must be increased to address aging infrastructure, energy-inefficient buildings, and the evolving ways people use libraries.

Let your elected representatives know we need their support at the Capitol.

National Celebration Weeks and Promotional Events

ALA's offices and divisions sponsor a variety of library promotions throughout the year that libraries of all types all across the country can get involved with to promote libraries and create awareness of library issues. Check out the links below to see how you can bring these promotions to your library. The oldest of these events is National Library Week.

Freedom of Information Day
March: Freedom of Information (FOI) Day is an annual event on or near March 16, the birthday of James Madison, who is widely regarded as the Father of the Constitution and as the foremost advocate for openness in government. Each year, the James Madison Award and the Eileen Cooke State & Local Madison Award are presented by the American Library Association Washington (DC) Office on Freedom of Information Day to recognize those individuals or groups that have championed, protected, and promoted public access to government information and the public's right to know.
School Library Month
April: School Library Month (SLM) is the American Association of School Librarians' (AASL) celebration of school librarians and their programs. Every April school librarians are encouraged to create activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school library programs play in a student's educational career. Shares the theme of National Library Week.
National Library Week
April: First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. It is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation's libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support. All types of libraries -- school, public, academic and special -- participate.
Preservation Week
April: Preservation Week, held in the last week of April, was first observed by the Association for Library Collections & Technical Services (ALCTS) in 2010, offers an opportunity to celebrate collecting and preservation in your community, and to highlight your institution as a source of preservation information.

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Future Preservation Week Dates:
2021: April 25–May 1
2022: April 24–April 30
Choose Privacy Week
May: Started in 2010, by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, this initiative invites library users into a national conversation about privacy rights in a digital age. The campaign gives libraries the tools they need to educate and engage users, and gives citizens the resources to think critically and make more informed choices about their privacy. Typically celebrated the first full week of May.
National Library Legislative Week
May: Library Legislative Day is held each spring in Washington, D.C. Virtual Library Legislative Day activities will be held throughout the same week in the spring, and will be an opportunity for all library advocates to make their voices heard on a national level. Library advocates who cannot make it to Capitol Hill for the event can be a part of the effort.
Banned Books Week
September: Banned Books Week, an annual celebration of the freedom to read since 1982, is observed the last week of September. Each year, librarians, booksellers, teachers and countless others take this opportunity to highlight the importance of intellectual freedom and remind us not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted.

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Future dates:
September 27 - October 3, 2020
Library Card Sign-Up Month
September: September is Library Card Sign-Up Month - a time when the American Library Association and libraries across the country remind parents that the most important school supply of all is @ your library® - it's your library card. September was first so designated in 1988, as a continuation of a national campaign launched the previous year.

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Future Dates:
National Friends of Libraries Week
October: National Friends of Libraries Week offers a two-fold opportunity to celebrate Friends – promoting the group in the community, raising awareness and increasing membership and also giving libraries and boards of trustees the opportunity to recognize the Friends for their help and support of the library.

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Future Dates:
Oct. 18-24, 2020
Oct. 17-23, 2021
International Games Week
November: ALA's National Gaming Day, first celebrated in 2008, focuses on the social and recreational side of gaming. Gaming at the library encourages patrons of all ages to interact with diverse peers, share their expertise and develop new strategies for gaming and learning. At the library, kids can socialize with their friends and play board and video games while surrounded by books, librarians and a real world of knowledge. In 2017, the celebration was changed from a day to an entire week.