Library Lovers Month

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Legislative Citation

The Utah Library Association (ULA) would like to announce on February 22 the Utah State Senate honored Utah Libraries with an Official Citation designating February 2022 Library Lovers Month in recognition of the many ways libraries and librarians improve the lives of Utahns and add value to our communities.

The Citation (ula.org/citation) noted that there are 140 public libraries in Utah, and hundreds of libraries in Utah schools and institutions of higher education that collectively serve millions of Utahns of all ages. The Citation recognizes the variety of ways libraries serve Utahns including the thousands of educational, STEM, cultural, arts, entertainment, family, and business programs offered every year for children, teens, parents, seniors, entrepreneurs, and new arrivals.

While many Utah families are familiar the important role libraries play for students—fostering strong early literacy skills, offering homework help, test prep, coding instruction, and other 21st century technology literacies—the Citation also recognizes that libraries support a prosperous, competitive, and healthy economy by offering workforce skills development, career planning programs, job-search assistance, and research and resources to entrepreneurs that support small business creation.

ULA President Rita Christensen says, “On behalf of Utah librarians we are thankful to Senator Escamilla for sponsoring this Citation, and to all members of the Senate for recognizing that Utah libraries are the foundation and bedrock of freedom; that we help cultivate the spirit of democracy through knowledge, education, and literacy.” Christensen also offers thanks to Utah library workers saying, “As the pandemic rages on, I want to acknowledge the great work of library staff across the State of Utah, who have shown up for their patrons, providing responsive library services such as laptops and wifi hotspots and laptops, which helped thousands of Utahns fully participate in work and school during the pandemic.”

ULA invites Utahns to celebrate Library Lovers Month with us by visiting a library and learning about the many programs, resources, and services offered in Utah’s libraries, and by staying in the loop by following their local library on social media, and following the Utah Library Associations news and updates at facebook.com/UtahLibraryAssociation.

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LET THE CELEBRATIONS BEGIN! #UTLovesLibraries