Freeport celebrates National Library Week

National Library Week will be observed April 10-16 with the theme, “Libraries Transform.” The Freeport Memorial Library will participate in this celebration with a variety of programs for residents.

    “We want to give people as many reasons as possible to come to the library,” Ken Bellafiore, executive director of the Freeport Library said. “We have some terrific programs that showcase local talent and address our patrons’ interests.”

    This annual celebration, sponsored by the American Library Association, is usually held the second week of April. It celebrates the contribution of the nation’s libraries and promotes library use and support. “It’s spring and we want to reinvigorate interest in this wonderful community resource,” Bellafiore said.

    National Library Week was first sponsored in 1958 after research showed that Americans were spending more time listening to the radio and watching television. Concerned that Americans were reading less, the ALA and the American Books Publishers formed a nonprofit citizens organization called the National Book Committee in 1954 with the goal of encouraging people to read. In 1957, the committee developed a plan for National Library Week based on the idea that once people were motivated to read they would support and use libraries. The first theme was “Wake Up and Read.”

    Libraries remain important public institutions.  More residents are visiting the library. Bellafiore believes there is on average about “2,000 more visitors each month this year.” Bellafiore hopes even more Freeporters will use the library’s resources. “We’re more than just books,” Bellafiore said. “We have many online resources, a lot of different kinds of programs and a state of the art business resource center, for starters.”

National Library week programs