National School Librarian Day Date in the current year: April 4, 2024

A lot of people think that school librarians simply give out books to children and keep school libraries organized, but this is just a tiny part of their job. School librarians help children find resources they need to learn outside of the classroom and create a positive and encouraging learning environment.

In the United States, a school librarian (formerly known as school library media specialist) is a certified librarian who also has training in education. Each state has its own requirements for school librarians. In most states, school librarians must obtain a bachelor’s degree and teaching credentials (a certificate in elementary or secondary education), as well as complete a school library media program and gain state certification.

School librarians perform several roles: library media program administrator, information specialist, instructional partner, and teacher. They assist to children in selecting books and may even read to them, help students with schoolwork, work with classroom teachers to foster independent learning, analyze the curriculum and students’ interests to obtain new books and other library materials, organize and maintain the library, and more. In many schools, school librarians are also responsible for audiovisual equipment, school website and/or blog, and other technology-related aspects of the educational process.

School librarians have been celebrated by school districts and individual schools for decades, although on different days throughout the school year. It wasn’t until relatively recently that it became common to celebrate National School Librarian Day on April 4 because April is School Library Month in the United States.

School Library Month is an initiative launched in 1985 by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL). A division of the American Library Association (ALA), the AASL is the only national professional membership organization focused on the school library community and school librarians. It has over 7,000 members from United States, Canada, and even outside of North America.

The main goal of School Library Month is to raise awareness of the essential role that strong school libraries and devoted school librarians play in transforming learning. The entire month of April is filled with events celebrating school libraries and librarians, but its main highlights are National School Librarian Day (April 4), National Library Week (held during a full week in April), National Library Workers Day (April 25), and National Library Outreach Day (April 26).

School librarians celebrate their holiday by participating in conferences, seminars, webinars, workshops, and other professional events where they can exchange ideas and experiences. Students, parents, teachers, and school administrators can join the celebration by showing their appreciation to school librarians and posting about the holiday on social media with the hashtags #NationalSchoolLibrarianDay and #SchoolLibrarianDay.