Love Thy Library as Thyself

It's National Library Week! Woo hoo... So, roll out the barrels, grab your party hats and run, don't walk to your nearest library.

This year National Library Week's theme is "Communities thrive @ your library" and we here at ReadingGroupGuides.com love reading and love reading communities so we're happy to take part in the celebration.

I have so many fond memories from my childhood of being in The Springfield Township Library or the library at my elementary school. I remember being kind of in awe of the quiet and the books and feeling so lucky to have a library card. I remember the librarians as being so nice and helpful, and so very, very tall behind that big checkout counter.

And though I certainly go to the library a bit less now than I did then, I want to make sure they continue to thrive. Especially in these tough economic times when our libraries provide free access to books and computers, homework help, assistance with resumes and job searches, accurate financial information, adult education courses, assistance for new Americans, CDs, DVDs and much more.

Be a part of National Library Week by visiting your local library. And hey, take a friend a long, or your kids.

Another way you can participate is to help libraries in the US get the funding they need. There are only two days left to get in touch with your senator and ask them to sign the "Dear Appropriators" letter that will go to the Senate Appropriations Committee asking them to support the Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) and the Improving Literacy Through School Libraries (ILTSL) program in the FY2011 budget. Learn more about the budget and get instructions on how to contact your Senator by clicking here!