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National Libraries Day
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<h2 id="background">Background</h2> <p>Following Save our Libraries Day in 2011,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> author and library campaigner <a href="/facts/Alan_Gibbons/JFsNrRct">Alan Gibbons</a> proposed that the first day in February be made National Libraries Day after receiving emails suggesting that there should be a chance to "celebrate our libraries".<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a> </p><p>On 25 May 2011, Gibbons announced that: </p> <blockquote><p>We are delighted to launch National Libraries Day, a week of events in early February leading to a day of celebration of reading, libraries and librarians around the United Kingdom. A reading child is a successful child. A child who goes to the library is twice as likely to be a good reader and that child becomes a literate adult, a lifelong reader. There are 320 million visits a year to our libraries but we can make them even more popular.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></p>— <a href="/facts/Alan_Gibbons/JFsNrRct">Alan Gibbons</a>, <a href="/facts/Chartered_Institute_of_Library_and_Information_Professionals/PMzdLXV6">Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals</a> website</blockquote> <h2 id="the-library-book">The Library Book</h2> <p>In support of the first National Libraries Day, a book was published featuring a number of authors contributing their thoughts on why they think libraries matter. The book features contributions from <a href="/facts/Alan_Bennett/eAJ83UuR">Alan Bennett</a>, <a href="/facts/Julian_Barnes/Qg5NKL7f">Julian Barnes</a> and <a href="/facts/Stephen_Fry/ylDCoJbd">Stephen Fry</a>, with all the proceeds going to <a href="/facts/The_Reading_Agency/YqXwkCAu">The Reading Agency</a> to aid their work supporting libraries.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="supporters">Supporters</h2> <p>National Libraries Day is supported by a range of organisations including: </p> <ul><li><a href="/facts/The_Bookseller/mr0tUM7e">The Bookseller</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Booktrust/263a4cj2">Booktrust</a></li> <li>Campaign for the Book</li> <li><a href="/facts/Chartered_Institute_of_Library_and_Information_Professionals/PMzdLXV6">Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals</a></li> <li>The Library Campaign</li> <li><a href="/facts/National_Literacy_Trust/SNALqxqq">National Literacy Trust</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/The_Publishers_Association/HjTh8REL">The Publishers Association</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/The_Reading_Agency/YqXwkCAu">The Reading Agency</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/The_Society_of_Authors/cPY0Aybu">The Society of Authors</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Unison/XnNeISEv">Unison</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Voices_for_the_Library/tFPmjqWk">Voices for the Library</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Women%2527s_Institutes/8j3X5hdP">Women's Institutes</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"National Libraries Day official website". Retrieved January 28, 2012. <a href="http://www.nationallibrariesday.org.uk/2011/09/national-libraries-day-4-feb-2012-save-the-date/" target="_blank">http://www.nationallibrariesday.org.uk/2011/09/national-libraries-day-4-feb-2012-save-the-date/</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Support your library while you still can - The Herald". 30 January 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012. <a href="http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/columnists/support-your-library-while-you-still-can.16564581" target="_blank">http://www.heraldscotland.com/comment/columnists/support-your-library-while-you-still-can.16564581</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"A library fit for the future - Matthew Cain's blog". Retrieved February 2, 2012. <a href="http://blogs.channel4.com/culture/library-future/2198" target="_blank">http://blogs.channel4.com/culture/library-future/2198</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Chilton, Martin (February 4, 2012). "Julia Donaldson poem against library closures - The Telegraph". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved February 5, 2012. <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9059937/Julia-Donaldson-poem-against-library-closures.html" target="_blank">https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/booknews/9059937/Julia-Donaldson-poem-against-library-closures.html</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Children's laureate Julia Donaldson pens protest poem - BBC". BBC News. February 4, 2012. Retrieved February 5, 2012. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16878453" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-16878453</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"National Libraries Day takes place on Saturday 9 February 2013 - CILIP". Archived from the original on November 18, 2012. Retrieved January 8, 2013. <a href="https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20121118182354/http://www.cilip.org.uk/news-media/Pages/news121116.aspx" target="_blank">https://www.webarchive.org.uk/wayback/archive/20121118182354/http://www.cilip.org.uk/news-media/Pages/news121116.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Page, Benedicte (February 4, 2011). "Protests across the UK expected for Save Our Libraries Day - The Guardian". London. Retrieved February 2, 2012. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/feb/04/protests-save-our-libraries-day" target="_blank">https://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/feb/04/protests-save-our-libraries-day</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Gibbons proposes National Libraries Day - The Bookseller". Retrieved February 2, 2012. <a href="http://www.thebookseller.com/news/gibbons-proposes-national-libraries-day.html" target="_blank">http://www.thebookseller.com/news/gibbons-proposes-national-libraries-day.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"National Libraries Day launched - CILIP website". Retrieved February 2, 2012. <a href="http://www.cilip.org.uk/news-media/pages/news110526.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.cilip.org.uk/news-media/pages/news110526.aspx</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"The Bookseller". Retrieved January 28, 2012. <a href="http://www.thebookseller.com/news/profile-publish-starry-book-national-libraries-day.html" target="_blank">http://www.thebookseller.com/news/profile-publish-starry-book-national-libraries-day.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>