The Campaign for America’s Libraries’ @ your library® brand is assisting libraries across the country as they help people during tough economic times.

This is particularly true as tax time approaches. While the due date for filing taxes has been extended to April 18, a few libraries are getting a jump start on tax season.

Every Wednesday through April 13, the Zion-Benton Public Library of Zion, Ill., and AARP’s Tax Aide program allows residents to meet with an AARP volunteer as part of its “Tax Time @ your library” program. AARP volunteers assist residents in filing federal and state taxes and are on hand to answer tax-related questions. In addition, the library connects area seniors and residents with disabilities in with state grants that help reduce the impact of taxes and medical expenses.

“Tax information @ your library,” is a free, Web-based tax resource center through the Pioneer Library System of Norman, Okla. Its website offers a comprehensive guide to libraries and other local organizations that are working with the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program (VITA) and AARP Tax Aide to provide residents with free access to experts.

The San Antonio Public Library is also assisting its patrons on a variety of levels with its “Taxes @ your library” website. The library provides access to downloadable forms, along with lists of books to help library users file personal and small business taxes. The library is also participating in the VITA program and will host tax preparation sessions at several branches libraries through April 18.

The Albany County (Wyo.) Public Library offers “Get your taxes filed free by trained tax preparer$ @ your library.” Area residents with a total income of $55,000 or less can consult with trained tax professionals at the main library and select branch locations.

The Campaign for America’s Libraries is the American Library Association’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe – use the Campaign’s @ your library® brand. The Campaign is made possible by ALA’s Library Champions, corporations and foundations.

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Libraries are using the many tools in their marketing arsenal to show their value – and the value of libraries – to their communities.

The Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL) is the third largest public library in Colorado.

It describes its mission as meeting “the changing needs of our communities by providing information and environments that promote personal growth and community transformation.”

A JCPL library card is, indeed, the smartest card in its patrons’ wallet, providing access to a network of 10 libraries, a Bookmobile, a Traveling Children’s Library and eTrain and a mobile computer training lab, as well as books, periodicals, CDs and DVDs, and computer and Internet resources.

But JCPL also makes sure it reinforces that message. It recently launched an integrated marketing campaign to remind patrons and residents of the value of libraries. The “We Say Yes” campaign is designed to showcase all the resources it offers to help individuals and communities be all they can be. Campaign tactics include library signage; print, electronic and social media; advertising; direct mail; and a growing library of videos used by Speakers’ Bureau volunteers in presentations to community groups.

The following “Intro to JCPL” video is one example of its efforts.

Libraries Change Lives from Jefferson County Public Library on Vimeo.

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In the wake of deep library budget cuts taking place in communities across the country, Scott Turow, author of “Presumed Innocent” and its sequel, “Innocent,” and president of the Authors Guild, expressed his views regarding the value of our nation’s libraries in an opinion piece posted today in the Huffington Post.

Though the efforts of Turow, and the work of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Public Information Office, more than 25 million Huffington Post visitors will have access to Turow’s eloquent comments on the value of our nation’s libraries.

“While our economy seems to be slowly staggering back to its feet, state and municipal governments remain hard-hit as the result of lost tax revenues, lost stimulus money and pension fund payments that have grown to monstrous size to make up for the market losses of 2007 and 2008,” stated Turow. “Those governments are cutting everywhere they can, and public libraries nationwide have been one of the biggest and least deserved losers in the process.”

Turow provided recent examples of budget cuts. “For example, in California, Governor Brown’s new proposed budget decreases General Fund assistance for public libraries by $30.4 million, eliminating the California Library Services Act, Public Library Foundation and the California Library Literacy and English Acquisition Services — that is, access, resource sharing and adult literacy,” Turow said. “In Texas, the cuts are even more stark, with the new budget proposing complete elimination of several programs that have either provided direct aid to libraries or irreplaceable programs, like those that created shared databases. Even in my own community, a small city on the northern edge of Chicago where a major university sits, my neighbors and I have been struggling to save a small branch library that was pivotal to the education of many neighborhood kids.”

Turow closes the article with a very clear message of support. “I count myself as one of millions of Americans whose life simply would not be the same without the libraries that supported my learning. We cannot take that opportunity away from so many Americans who need that help urgently now.”

To read the complete opinion piece please visit http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-turow/letthemeatcakeattitude-th_b_823609.html.

Scott Turow is a participant in the American Library Association’s “Our Authors, Our Advocates” initiative. Through “Our Authors, Our Advocates,” one of ALA President Roberta Stevens’ key presidential initiatives, bestselling authors have provided their support for libraries through media interviews, podcasts and public service announcements.

For more information regarding “Our Authors, Our Advocates” please visit ILoveLibraries.org.
Photo courtesy of Jeremy Lawson Photography

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Albert Einstein once said, “Science is exploring and exploring is fun.”

It was with this idea that the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh developed “Super Science @ your library” using the Campaign for America’s Libraries’ @ your library brand.

Developed for students in kindergarten through fifth grade, “Super Science @ your library” reaches out to children through the library’s branch locations to expand on the science curricula currently being taught in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.

“The schools are currently focusing on math and reading skills for students in third-fifth grade,” said youth services coordinator Georgene DeFilippo. “The library is therefore working to support the school system by promoting  and expanding science based education.”

Super Science @ your library works to stress the importance of science, technology, engineering and math to children with fun, hands on experiments and guest speakers. The program features 12 topic areas, which have included topics like inventors, robots, recycling and wetland habitats. Each unit features local experts who speak to students about  careers in science and the role science plays in our everyday lives.

A key feature of “Super Science @ your library” has been the library’s partnerships. In addition to the public school system, the library has worked with area partner organizations like Carnegie Science Center and Carnegie Museum of Art to reach out to shared audiences, especially school age children.

“Each organization wants to promote their services to the community, and by working together it is a win win for each of us,” said communications manager, Suzanne Thinnes. “Although the ultimate winners are the children who get the best of our shared resources.”

Another key partner the library works to involve in the program is parents and caregivers of school-age children. Each “Super Science @ your library” unit provides tools and resources so parents can work with their children at home or in the library. Tools include lesson plans; a resource guide, including books, points of interest in the community and digital resources; vocabulary lists; and interactive projects.

“Super Science @ your library uses the library to get kids excited about thinking critically and creatively about science,” said Thinnes.

The Campaign for America’s Libraries (www.ala.org/@yourlibrary), ALA’s public awareness campaign that promotes the value of libraries and librarians. Thousands of libraries of all types – across the country and around the globe – use the Campaign’s @ your library® brand. The Campaign is made possible by ALA’s Library Champions, corporations and foundations.

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School and public libraries can promote Teen Tech Week™(March 6-12) with online resources offered by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).

Since 2007, Teen Tech Week, sponsored by YALSA, has ensured that teens are competent and ethical users of technologies, especially those that are offered through libraries such as DVDs, databases, audiobooks and videogames. Teen Tech Week encourages teens to use libraries’ nonprint resources for education and recreation and to recognize that librarians are qualified, trusted professionals in the field of information technology.

The promotional effort for this year’s Teen Tech Week, held March 6- 12, is coordinated by ALA’s Public Information Office (PIO) and YALSA. It includes a number of online tools libraries can use to publicize Teen Tech Week activities: Sample Press Release, Tips for Creating a Press Release, Sample PSAs, Sample Letters to Editor, Sample Proclamation, tips on Using the TTW Logo and downloadable audio PSAs featuring Tom Kenny, the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants, are all available at www.ala.org/teentechweek.

The 2011 Teen Tech Week theme of “Mix and Mash @ your library” fosters teen creativity and positions the library as a physical and virtual place for safe exploration of the many types of technology available at libraries, including DVDs, music, gaming, video production, online homework help, social networking, tech workshops, audiobooks and more.

For more information on Teen Tech Week, please visit www.ala.org/teentechweek.

For more than 50 years, YALSA has been the world leader in selecting books, videos and audiobooks for teens. For more information about YALSA or for lists of recommended reading, viewing and listening, go to www.ala.org/yalsa/booklists.

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