National Library Week April 19-25

Special to Wesson News

Wesson Public Library (WPL) will lead the local celebration of National Library Week April 19-25.

The American Library Association (ALA) sponsors the annual week-long event to celebrate the essential role of libraries and library staff in transforming lives and strengthening communities.  Daily celebrations during the week include Right to Read Day, National Library Workers Day, and National Library Outreach Day. 

The three-fold purpose of the nationwide celebrations thematically framed as “Find Your Joy” is to:

• Promote library use.

• Highlight the diverse services libraries offer – technology, meeting spaces, programs.

• Encourage support for libraries, especially against censorship.

“In Wesson, over the years, we found events for kids to be an effective way to do all three,” says WPL Librarian Marilyn Britt.  “The events message community service, reach parents and others who care about children and engender support for our library.”

So in line with its tradition, Wesson Public Library will celebrate National Library Week by hosting 28 kids from the Wesson Baptist Church pre-school program on Monday, April 20, and 54 students from the Wesson Attendance Center first grade on Tuesday, April 21.  Retired veterinarian Bob Watson will speak both days, assisted by his golden retriever.  On Wednesday, April 22, which is Earth Day, WPL will host the third and fourth graders in Wesson Garden Club’s (WGC) Butterbeans program for kids with a focus on trees in connection with Arbor Day on Friday, April 24, and “Neighborhood Forest” and “Get Free Trees” activities.

On Thursday, April 23, the library will fete its librarians and the members of Wesson Friends of the Library to a private luncheon that honors their work in making WPL an important community service which brings people together, sparks imagination and supports lifelong learning..

ALA invites the wider community to participate in National Library Week by:

• Visiting local libraries in person or virturally to take out books, use media resources, or attend programs.

• Thanking library staff for their contributions as library professionals.

• Supporting libraries by engaging them on social media.

• Advocating for local, state and federal funding for libraries.