In her role as honorary chair of National Library Week, author, editor, library and literacy advocate Caroline Kennedy visited with students at Sanislo Elementary School library in Seattle on April 8 to discuss the power of poetry and libraries. The visit was timed in conjunction with April’s School Library Month.

Kennedy met with Sanislo Elementary librarian and AASL member Craig Seasholes (pictured above) and first through third grade students in Sanislo’s poetry club. She also shared from her recent book, “Poems to Learn by Heart,” published by Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Publishing Worldwide. Students also shared some their favorite poems, including Janet Wong’s “Liberty.”

When Kennedy asked the students what they love about the library, one boy responded, “Reading makes me happy, and makes my brain work better.”

“You are showing everyone that kids like poems, they like to read and they like to share with friends,” Kennedy told the students.

Photos are courtesy of Seattle Public Schools. More great photos of Caroline Kennedy visiting with students are available on the @ your library Facebook page.

Kennedy is also making an appearance at Horace Mann Elementary library in California’s Beverly Hills Unified District.

In addition to her school library visits, Kennedy appears in two TV public service announcements that are running on the Disney Channel. Approximately 1.4 million viewers see the PSAs every time they air. Kennedy appears in the PSA with the star of Disney Channel’s “Austin and Ally,” Laura Marano. They discuss the value and opportunities available at libraries.

Librarians can watch the PSAs by visiting the National Library Week website and link to the PSAs or embed them on their own websites, blogs or Facebook pages.

Free customizable print and digital PSAs featuring Kennedy are also available on the National Library Week website. Print PSAs are available for librarians to download and feature National Library Week theme, Communities matter @ your library, for use in local newspapers, library newsletters, websites and blogs. ALA offers customization of the print PSA; a library’s logo can be added at no cost.

The PSAs complement National Library Week products offered by ALA Graphics. In addition to a poster and bookmark, a mini poster and downloadable graphics are available.

Other promotional tools for National Library Week include a sample proclamation, press release and letter to the editor, as well as scripts for use in radio PSAs. Two other radio PSAs in mp3 format are also download-ready.

National Library Week and School Library Month are initiatives of the American Library Association (ALA) and are celebrated by 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.

The American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries is a public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe – participate. The Campaign is made possible by ALA’s Library Champions.

For additional information, please contact Jennifer Habley, Manager of Web Communications for the American Association for School Librarians (AASL), a division of ALA, at jhabley@ala.org, or Megan McFarlane Campaign Coordinator for the Campaign for America’s Libraries, at mmcfarlane@ala.org.

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New televised public service announcements (PSA) of National Library Week Honorary Chair Caroline Kennedy are currently appearing on the Disney channel. Approximately 1.4 million viewers see the PSA every time it is aired.

Kennedy appears in the PSA with the star of Disney’s “Austin and Ally,” Laura Marano, discussing the value and opportunities available at libraries.

Librarians can access the PSAs from the National Library Week website or the atyourlibrary.org YouTube channel, where the videos can be downloaded or embedded for use on their websites, blogs or Facebook pages.

In addition to the video PSAs, free customizable print and digital public service announcements (PSAs) featuring Caroline Kennedy are also available on the National Library Week website.  Print PSAs are available for librarians to download and feature National Library Week theme, Communities matter @ your library, for use in local newspapers, library newsletters, websites and blogs. ALA offers customization of the print PSA; a library’s logo can be added at no cost.

More information is on the National Library Week webpage.

The PSAs complement National Library Week products offered by ALA Graphics. In addition to a poster and bookmark, a mini poster and downloadable graphics are available.

Other promotional tools for National Library Week include a sample proclamation, press release and letter to the editor, as well as scripts for use in radio PSAs. Two other radio PSAs in mp3 format are also download-ready.

An advocate for reading, literacy and libraries, Kennedy has written or edited 10 bestselling books on American history, politics and poetry. Her latest book, “Poems to Learn by Heart” from Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Publishing Worldwide, with original illustrations by award-winning artist Jon J Muth—is a companion to her New York Times No. 1 bestselling collection “A Family of Poems.”

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.

The American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries (www.ala.org/@yourlibrary) is a public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe – participate. The Campaign is made possible by ALA’s Library Champions.

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As part of the Auditorium Speaker Series at the American Library Association’s 2013 Midwinter Meeting in Seattle, Caroline Kennedy, Honorary Chair of 2013 National Library Week, spoke to an enthusiastic crowd about her passion for libraries and the role that reading and poetry  has played in her family’s lives.

Kennedy said that all types of  libraries are, “tabernacles of personal freedom: freedom of thought, freedom of expression,  freedom of opportunity and the  true test of liberty – freedom to dissent,” and noted that, “Libraries have a critical role in teaching the higher order thinking skills that students need under the Common Core curriculum, and the research techniques  and analytics that are so critical in the information age.”

Video of Caroline Kennedy’s speech is available online.

Celebrate National Library Week  2013 (April 14-20) with Honorary Chair Caroline Kennedy. View 2013 National Library Week Public Service Announcement featuring Caroline Kennedy.

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From a sign that librarianship was a calling to the culmination of a lifetime of work, winning the 2012 Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award meant something different to each of the winners.

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Today, 10 librarians are recognized for service to their communities, schools and campuses as winners of the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award.
More than 1,500 library patrons nationwide nominated a librarian.  The 10 award recipients are:

Each receives a $5,000 cash award and will be honored at a ceremony and reception in New York, hosted by The New York Times, on Dec. 18. Robert K. Massie, winner of the 2012 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Nonfiction, for his work, Catherine the Great, Portrait of a Woman will make remarks at the ceremony.

In their nominations, library patrons told stories of how their librarians make a difference in their communities.  This year’s winners include a librarian who coordinates her library’s mail-a-book program for homebound patrons, a bilingual librarian who specializes in outreach to her community’s Latino population and a college librarian who transformed her library into a supportive, 21st century research space.

Nominations were open to librarians working in public, school, college, community college and university libraries.  Fifty librarians nationwide have won the I Love My Librarian award since 2008.

The award is a collaborative program of Carnegie Corporation of New York, The New York Times and the American Library Association (ALA).

Commenting on the 2012 winners, Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation and Past President of the New York Public Library said, “The existence and the welfare of the library are of paramount importance in the life of a society, in the life of a community, the life of a school and a college, the life of a city, and the life of a nation. Indeed, libraries are a central part of our society. They are a critical component in the free exchange of information, which is at the heart of our democracy. In both an actual and symbolic sense, the library—and hence librarians—are the guardians of freedom of thought and freedom of choice.”

“The 1,500 nominations that library users nationwide sent in for this award tell a clear story: that librarians make a difference every day in the lives of their patrons and that libraries are vital to their communities,” said Maureen Sullivan, President of the American Library Association.

Members of the 2012 I Love My Librarian selection committee include Molly Raphael, ALA past president and committee chair; Dr. Rookaya Bawa, Carnegie Corporation of New York; Carl A. Harvey II, past president of the American Association of School Librarians, a division of ALA; Diane McNulty, The New York Times; Joyce L. Ogburn, past president of the Association of College and Research Libraries, a division of ALA; and Eva Poole, President of the Public Library Association, a division of ALA.

About Carnegie Corporation of New York
Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding. In keeping with this mandate, the Corporation’s work focuses on the issues that Andrew Carnegie considered of paramount importance: international peace, the advancement of education and knowledge, and the strength of our democracy.  For more information visit: www.carnegie.org

About The New York Times Company
The New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), a leading global, multimedia news and information company with 2011 revenues of $2.3 billion, includes The New York Times, the International Herald Tribune, The Boston Globe, NYTimes.com, BostonGlobe.com, Boston.com and related properties. The Company’s core purpose is to enhance society by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news and information.

About the American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA), the voice of America’s libraries, is the oldest, largest and most influential library association in the world. Its approximately 60,000 members are primarily librarians but also trustees, publishers and other library supporters. The association represents all types of libraries; its mission is to promote the highest quality library and information services and public access to information.

The ALA administered the award through the Campaign for America’s Libraries, ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians.

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Caroline Kennedy has been named the 2013 Honorary Chair of National Library Week (April 14-20, 2013), according to the American Library Association. During National Library Week and throughout the month of April, libraries of all types—public, school, academic and special— hold special events to highlight the unique role libraries play in American society and encourage the public to use their resources. Those resources include computers, books and e-books, homework help, assistance with resumes and job searches, accurate financial information, adult education courses, support for immigrants and more.

As Honorary Chair, Kennedy will appear in public service announcements (PSAs) promoting National Library Week. The PSAs, developed by the American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries, will be placed in magazines and online throughout the spring. ALA will also offer free customization of the PSAs for libraries.

An advocate for reading, literacy and libraries, Kennedy has written or edited 10 bestselling books on American history, politics and poetry. Her latest book, “Poems to Learn by Heart”—due to be published in March 2013 from Disney-Hyperion, an imprint of Disney Publishing Worldwide with original illustrations by award-winning artist Jon J Muth—is a companion to her New York Times #1 best-selling collection “A Family of Poems.”

In addition, Kennedy is scheduled to speak at the 2013 ALA Midwinter Meeting in Seattle at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 27. More information regarding her appearance is available on the ALA Midwinter Meeting website.

In December 2011, Kennedy spoke at the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian Award ceremony in New York City. . In that speech, she said that many librarians she has met are “professionals who are excited about their changing role in a changing world – who are dedicated to serving others, who respect scholarship, and who understand that you are our guides on a lifelong journey of intellectual collaboration and collaborative composition… . Your work is truly life changing.”

The American Library Association’s Campaign for America’s Libraries (www.ala.org/@yourlibrary) is a public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe – participate. The Campaign is made possible by ALA’s Library Champions.

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