Fall Celebrations: Library Card Sign-Up Month, Banned Books Week, and National Friends of Libraries Week
eLearning
Description
Now is the time for Friends of Libraries, library Foundations, and other groups to plan for fall events – Library Card Sign-Up Month in September, Banned Books Week Oct. 5-11, and National Friends of Libraries Week Oct. 19-25 (the 20th anniversary celebration!). Learn innovative ideas for how to use these events to promote your library and group, and about new graphics and promotional items that will be available. Find out how groups across the country have celebrated these events, and new ideas for 2025.
Speakers
Betsy Gomez is the Assistant Director of Communications and Public Outreach for the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom, where she is a coordinator for Banned Books Week and Unite Against Book Bans. She has been coordinator for the Banned Books Week Coalition, a diverse group of organizations dedicated to defending intellectual freedom during Banned Books Week and beyond, since 2018. She is a former coalition and editorial director for the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund, an advocacy organization dedicated to the First Amendment rights of the comics community. Gomez edited and designed the award-winning publication CBLDF Presents: She Changed Comics.
Jean Hodges is the Director of Communications, Marketing & Media Relations for the American Library Association. She has been with the association for 1.5 years, and in that time, she has led the marketing and communications efforts around our new Public Supporter Program, which included a redesign and repurposing of the ilovelibraries.org website to explain more about our national association’s role in supporting libraries. She formerly worked at Gannett, the largest local-to-national publisher and digital media organization in the country, as Senior Director of News Culture and Communications. Prior to that, she worked in England in marketing and PR.
Jillian Wentworth is the Deputy Director, Strategy & Engagement, for United for Libraries, a division of the American Library Association. Jillian has also worked as a librarian, editor, and journalist. She is the co-author of Proving Your Library’s Value: Persuasive, Organized, and Memorable Messaging (ALA Editions, 2020) and has presented on library advocacy, working with Friends groups and library trustees, and more at national, regional, state, and local library conferences and workshops. She earned a master's degree in library and information science from Drexel University and a bachelor's degree in English from Hollins University.
About Learning Live
United for Libraries Learning Live sessions take place on the second Tuesday of each month* at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Each month’s session covers a hot topic of interest to Trustees, Friends, and/or Foundations, followed by Q&A and/or discussions. Sessions are open to all personal members of United for Libraries and those with statewide access.
*Learning Live is not held in August due to United for Libraries Virtual: Trustees, Friends, Foundations.
How to Register
United for Libraries Personal Members & Statewide Partners
United for Libraries Personal Members
Statewide Partners (MA, MD, MI, MN, ND, NE, OR, SC, and VA)
Non-Members
Non-members may purchase a one-year subscription to Learning Live, which includes live attendance and on-demand access to 11 webinars over a 12-month period* beginning with the month of purchase.
Some Learning Live sessions are available for standalone purchase.
