First sponsored in 1958, National Library week is a nation-wide celebration sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the United States each year in April. When research in the mid-1950s showed that Americans were spending less on books and more on other forms of entertainment, the ALA and the American Book Publishers formed a non-profit organizations called the National Book Committee. Their goals centered around the idea of encouraging people to read in their leisure time.
The 2017 National Library Week theme is "Libraries Transform".
The American Library Association (ALA) is the oldest and largest library association in the world. The mission of ALA is “to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.”
The core values of ALA include:
