National Librarian Day

 

History of National Librarian Day

Libraries can be traced back for many centuries, when they were originally used to store and organize collections of documents. Around the 8th century BC, a wealthy king of Assyria created a library and he was the first person in history to introduce the concept of librarians or “keepers of books”.

Sometime after 323 BC, the Great Library of Alexandria was established for Greek literature and its librarians were also famous scholars. Moving forward in time, from Humphrey Chetham, who started the first public reference library in England, to Benjamin Franklin who was instrumental in starting several libraries when the US got its start, libraries have continued to be a vital part of the world in the past and going forward.

National Librarian Day got its start in 1958 when it was sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA). The day wasn’t celebrated every year, though, until 2004 when it got resurgence. It was then that the ALA revived National Librarian Day as part of a campaign to raise awareness for the appreciation of library staff. The day is now celebrated annually as a way to celebrate the work that librarians do as well as educating the local community about the importance and necessity of these folks.