Dear Library...

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heart shaped book shelves

Calling all Library Lovers! February isn't just for Valentine's Day, romance, and couples. It's also for lovers of libraries. National Library Lovers Month (and National Library Lovers Day on Feb. 14) is a time to celebrate all things to do with our beloved libraries, the librarians and staff that care for them, and the patrons and community that love them. 

Libraries not only provide their communities with a vast and diverse collection of reading materials but also a quiet place to study, career resources, WiFi hotspots, sensory toys, programs for all ages, and so much more. 

Volunteer

Do you want to be more involved in your local library? In-person volunteering has resumed. Our volunteers are a diverse and active group of individuals who perform a variety of tasks that support library staff in providing excellent library services. Volunteer opportunities are available at most Library District locations. You may submit References and either an Adult Volunteer Interest Form or a Youth Volunteer Interest Form. The Volunteer Program Office will contact you with more information once the application has been processed.

Patrons can also volunteer with our wonderful Friends of the Library. You can either volunteer to work the book sales in April or October (each book sale lasts 5 days) or work year-round at the Friends of the Library Bookhouse.

Dear Library... 

Tell us why you love the library! Send library appreciation stories from any time and place, your childhood or last week. Take a moment to thank a librarian and celebrate your library. Share your library love online or on social media with #NationalLibraryLoversMonth and tag @alachualibrary. 

You can follow our social media pages. We're on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, Flickr, and LinkedIn.  

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Staff Suggestions

Book

Dear Librarian

by
Lydia M. Sigwarth

When Lydia was five years old, she and her family had to leave their home. They hopped from Grandma's house to Aunt Linda's house to Cousin Alice's house, but no place was permanent. Then one day, everything changed. Lydia's mom took her to a new place—not a house, but a big building with stone columns, and tall, tall steps. The library.

In the library, Lydia found her special spot across from the sunny window, at a round desk. For behind that desk was her new friend, the librarian. Together, Lydia and the librarian discovered a world beyond their walls, one that sparkled with spectacular joy.

Dear Librarian is a thank you to anyone who has offered a child love and support during a difficult time.

This Book is My Best Friend

by
Robin Robinson

When two young readers reach for the same book at the library, they set off on a charming romp through the stacks in this rambunctious and endearing picture book.

Sunny and Aarush both love to read. In fact, it is their favorite thing. For Aarush, a book is like a refuge for when you want to be alone. For Sunny, a book is like a companion that keeps you from being lonely. There is only one problem: they are best friends with the same book, and neither wants to share.

Clearly, one of them will have to find something else to read—but maybe they’ll discover something even better along the way. Could it be sharing is the best part of reading and friendship?

Property of the Rebel Librarian

by
Allison Varnes

When twelve-year-old June Harper's parents discover what they deem an inappropriate library book, they take strict parenting to a whole new level. And everything June loves about Dogwood Middle School unravels: librarian Ms. Bradshaw is suspended, an author appearance is canceled, the library is gutted, and all books on the premises must have administrative approval.

But June can't give up books...and she realizes she doesn't have to when she spies a Little Free Library on her walk to school. As the rules become stricter at school and at home, June keeps turning the pages of the banned books that continue to appear in the little library. It's a delicious secret . . . and one she can't keep to herself. June starts a banned book library of her own in an abandoned locker at school. The risks grow alongside her library's popularity, and a movement begins at Dogwood Middle—a movement that, if exposed, could destroy her. But if it's powerful enough, maybe it can save Ms. Bradshaw and all that she represents: the freedom to read.

Equal parts fun and empowering, this novel explores censorship, freedom of speech, and activism. For any kid who doesn’t believe one person can effect change…and for all the kids who already know they can!

A Library

by
Nikki Giovanni

In this lyrical picture book, world-renowned poet, New York Times bestselling author, and Coretta Scott King Honor winner Nikki Giovanni and fine artist Erin Robinson craft an ode to the magic of a library as a place not only for knowledge but also for imagination, exploration, and escape.

In what other place can a child "sail their dreams" and "surf the rainbow" without ever leaving the room? This ode to libraries is a celebration for everyone who loves stories, from seasoned readers to those just learning to love words, and it will have kids and parents alike imagining where their library can take them.

This inspiring read-aloud includes stunning illustrations and a note from Nikki Giovanni about the importance of libraries in her own childhood.

Love in the Library

by
Maggie Tokuda-Hall

Set in an internment camp where the United States cruelly detained Japanese Americans during WWII and based on true events, this moving love story finds hope in heartbreak.

To fall in love is already a gift. But to fall in love in a place like Minidoka, a place built to make people feel like they weren’t human—that was miraculous.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor, Tama is sent to live in a War Relocation Center in the desert. All Japanese Americans from the West Coast—elderly people, children, babies—now live in prison camps like Minidoka. To be who she is has become a crime, it seems, and Tama doesn’t know when or if she will ever leave. Trying not to think of the life she once had, she works in the camp’s tiny library, taking solace in pages bursting with color and light, love and fairness. And she isn’t the only one.

George waits each morning by the door, his arms piled with books checked out the day before. As their friendship grows, Tama wonders: Can anyone possibly read so much? Is she the reason George comes to the library every day?

Beautifully illustrated and complete with an afterword, back matter, and a photo of the real Tama and George—the author’s grandparents—Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s elegant love story for readers of all ages sheds light on a shameful chapter of American history.

The Book Woman's Daughter

by
Kim Michele Richardson

In the ruggedness of the beautiful Kentucky mountains, Honey Lovett has always known that the old ways can make a hard life harder. As the daughter of the famed blue-skinned, Troublesome Creek packhorse librarian, Honey and her family have been hiding from the law all her life. But when her mother and father are imprisoned, Honey realizes she must fight to stay free, or risk being sent away for good.

Picking up her mother’s old packhorse library route, Honey begins to deliver books to the remote hollers of Appalachia. Honey is looking to prove that she doesn’t need anyone telling her how to survive, but the route can be treacherous, and some folks aren’t as keen to let a woman pave her own way. If Honey wants to bring the freedom that books provide to the families who need it most, she’s going to have to fight for her place, and along the way, learn that the extraordinary women who run the hills and hollers can make all the difference in the world.

The Librarian Spy

by
Madeline Martin

Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence.

Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It’s a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them.

As the battle in Europe rages, Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages and discovering hope in the face of war.