Celebrate I Love Libraries Month

February is "I love libraries" month. Of course for me, every month is "I love libraries month," but I'm happy to have a special occasion to celebrate the wonderful work that school and public libraries do throughout the country.

This photo from Lester Public Library in Two Rivers, Wisconsin (courtesy of Flickr) is called "Taking a Break at the Library." First of all, how wonderful is it that they have stuffed animals for kids to love on at this library, but secondly it's a terrific image pairing books and stuffed animals - kids get the message that they can love both.

Most book lovers have never met a library or a bookstore they didn't like. As the economic downturn has accelerated in these last few months, circulation and visitation of local public libraries is at an all-time high. Folks are turning to their local libraries for entertainment as well as access to information on job opportunities and skill development. Ironically, during these boom days in public libraries, funding for public libraries is close to an all-time low.

Here is a fab site that provides lots of ideas as to how we can all support our community libraries. And here is the "I Love Libraries" site supported by the American Library Association. Both sites have a wealth of information about books, authors, illustrators, bloggers, and libraries.