First sponsored in 1958, 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 and support. All types of libraries - school, public, academic and special - participate. This year’s theme is "Read! Learn! Connect! @ the Library!"

Press Release: http://www.ala.org/news/archives/v4n20/nlw2000.html

Sample Press materials: http://www.ala.org/nlw2000/index.html

National Library Week clip art: http://www.ala.org/pio/art/nlw.html

Here are some ideas:

• Post a National Library Week message on your Web site. Instruct staff to answer the telephone: "Happy National Library Week!"

• Invite local officials and legislators for a special National Library Week tour or program highlighting the many ways your library serves its constituents.

• Invite library users to meet their elected representatives and share what the library means to them. Take plenty of photos for your library's newsletter or annual report. Invite the media.

• Ask local businesses to display National Library Week posters and give away bookmarks. School, college and university libraries can distribute publicity materials around the building or campus - any place where students and faculty gather.

I would like to bring to your attention the following publication of a woman’s perspective on the Vietnam War, that will be released April 25, 2000. The author is an acquaintance of mine and while I have not read the book at this time, I am sure it is a very moving recollection of her experiences.

A World of Hurt: Between Innocence and Arrogance in Vietnam, by Mary Reynolds Powell.
ISBN: 0-9665319-5-7Price: $12.95