When people picture public archives and libraries, they usually think of quiet reading rooms, tall bookshelves, and strict silence. But a growing number of cultural institutions are changing that image. Through unique overnight programs, families are now getting the chance to explore these spaces long after the regular doors close.

Recently, the Delaware Public Archives made history by hosting its inaugural Night at the Archives event. This landmark program marked a major shift in how state archives invite public participation. Families gained rare nighttime access to vault collections and historical records. Stepping behind the scenes after dark gives visitors a magical look at history that few people ever experience.

Sleepovers Across Cultural Institutions

Overnight events are catching on at institutions of all sizes across the country. They show how public spaces can offer creative ways to engage families.

Sleepover at the National Archives

At the national level, kids and parents get the rare chance to sleep in the famous Rotunda. Families settle in near foundational documents like the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, and the National Archives offers guided activities that highlight the history behind these records. You can learn more through the National Archives’ family sleepover program page.

Brigham City Public Library Stuffed Animal Sleepover

At the local level, the Brigham City Public Library in Utah engages young readers through its stuffie sleepover tradition. Children drop off their favorite plush toys for after-hours library adventures, flashlight storytimes, and playful photo updates.

Whether exploring national treasure vaults or enjoying a neighborhood library lock-in, these programs turn traditional spaces into active centers of fun.

How Overnight Programs Benefit Families

Sleeping over at a library or archives is more than just a fun outing. These events provide real educational and social benefits for children and parents alike.

Overnight programs help demystify spaces that are often seen as quiet or rigid. By replacing strict silence with hands-on discovery and fun, kids learn that these places are welcoming and exciting.

They also create shared family experiences that break from routine. Navigating a dark building with flashlights or settling in for a bedtime story inside a reading room creates lasting memories that stay with children for years.

These events support multisensory learning, too. Flashlight tours, scavenger hunts, and bedtime storytelling engage visual, auditory, and active learners in ways that standard visits cannot match.

And they foster civic pride. Exploring historical vaults and local stacks shows children that public records and library collections belong to them. It builds long-term patronage and a sense of ownership that turns young visitors into lifelong library supporters.

Supporting Creative Community Programs

Overnight programs demonstrate that libraries and archives are continually evolving to serve their neighborhoods in new ways. However, organizing after-hours tours, securing rare collections, and hosting family events require dedicated staff and steady public funding.

When communities choose to support their local libraries and archives, they make these unforgettable learning experiences possible. Investing in public institutions ensures that families have access to creative, educational, and free community programs year-round.

Discover Events at Your Library

Libraries and archives are full of surprises once the sun goes down. They offer far more than quiet study tables, giving families a front-row seat to history, learning, and fun.

Check your local library or state archives calendar for upcoming sleepovers, late-night family programs, or unique after-hours events in your area. Your next great family adventure might be waiting right in the stacks.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.

#librarymarketers: Enjoy this story? Want to use it for your library newsletter, blog, or social media? This article is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.

This work by EveryLibrary is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

Why Families Are Spending the Night at Libraries and Archives was originally published in EveryLibrary on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Today’s moral panic focuses on removing LGBTQ+ and BIPOC stories from library shelves — often justified by claims that these books expose children to or indoctrinate them into far-left ideologies or “woke” culture. Florida, in particular, has taken a leading role in these challenges. The Florida State Board of Education has warned that school administrators could face criminal prosecution if their actions in making certain library books accessible fall under the state’s criminal obscenity statutes.

Launched in 2024 in response to the sharp rise in book banning campaigns across the United States over the last decade, the WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP program marks its two-year anniversary, noting that book bans have

“disproportionally impacted independent presses, many of whom are mission-driven and focus on publishing voices from the very communities who are targeted by the current political wave of book banning. The drop in sales to schools and libraries for many of these publishers has been significant, and this program aims to help those publishers, their authors, and most of all readers who will gain restored access to quality diverse books.”

WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP addresses this financial gap by using donated funds to purchase banned books directly from affected publishers and distribute them through regional partners, ensuring these books continue to reach readers.

To celebrate the program’s two-year anniversary, cocreator Lee Wind spoke with us via email.

What inspired the creation of WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP, and what do you hope it accomplishes in this moment of increasing book challenges and censorship?

LEE WIND: Outside of my day job for the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) as their Chief Content Officer, I’m an author of nine books for kids and teens. My nonfiction books for ages 11 and up (No Way, They Were Gay? and The Gender Binary Is a Big Lie, both from Zest Books/Lerner Publishing Group) have been banned multiple times, and that’s how I first met Dr. Tasslyn Magnusson.

Tasslyn works with both EveryLibrary and PEN America, and she holds the book banning data in the US. Because Tasslyn is an awesome person with a big heart, she also hosts these online information and support sessions for authors who are in the position I found myself in. We became friends and talked about how it felt like on the side of the freedom to read, all we were doing was playing defense. Over the course of a few months, Tasslyn and I wrestled with the question: What does going on the offense against book banning look like?

We looked at specific situations, like one person challenging 400 books in a single school district, and all 400 books being pulled from the shelves for an entire semester while they were reviewed. And we wondered, What might slow that roll? That’s how we came up with the idea behind WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP, where we buy and donate two books to offset every one book challenge. If that person knew that challenging 400 books was going to result in 800 books being purchased and distributed, maybe they wouldn’t challenge so many titles.

Maybe, if we have enough people help us, we can pull the emergency brake on this runaway train.

The campaign brings together authors, illustrators, educators, librarians, publishers, booksellers, nonprofits, and readers. Why was it important to build such a broad coalition, and what message does that collective support send to communities facing censorship efforts?

LEE WIND: So the dirty secret about book banning is that it’s not actually about the books. Getting into a debate about a specific book being appropriate or not is a trap, because you’re accepting the false framework that book banning is about keeping pornography out of school libraries and public library collections where children might access them. To be clear, there are no instances of actual pornography being in school libraries or public library collections for kids or teens.

What book banning is actually about is an attack on the identities represented in these books and their creators, especially Black people and LGBTQIA2+ people. It is an attempt to remove already marginalized communities from the public sphere and further marginalize us. As a Gay man myself, I know what it’s like growing up with zero positive references to who I was in any of the books I read. . . . That lack of representation didn’t make me not Gay, it just kept me isolated and afraid to be my authentic self.

The chilling effect of all the book banning happening in the past few years is to make librarians and teachers afraid to bring in books that they know would be important to the young people in their communities and schools.

And the chilling effect impacts the entire publishing ecosystem. At IBPA, we’re hearing from independent publishers who are mission-driven and focus on publishing underrepresented voices that their sales to schools and libraries are down in some cases as much as 50%. That means there’s less money for those publishers to acquire new diverse titles. That, and the decreased sales and canceled or never-booked school visits, hurts authors and illustrators. And teachers and librarians are hurt when they’re attacked for including diverse titles, or are unable to bring in titles they want for fear of backlash. Young readers are hurt most of all because they don’t get the books they need, the books that might be life-changing — and even life-saving. And we should note that there are more global majority people of color and self-identifying-as-Queer young people in this current generation than ever before in the US, so the demand and need for diverse books is also greater than ever.

That’s why WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP is a collaboration across so many parts of our industry, with so many partner organizations. And we focus on buying books from independent publishers who have been negatively impacted by that chilling effect I described above.

The book banners are trying to build a bigger closet to shove all of us underrepresented folks back inside, and the answer is NO. Say no with me: NO.

Many people want to help protect the freedom to read but aren’t sure where to start. What are some of the most meaningful actions individuals can take — whether they’re parents, students, educators, librarians, or community members — to support this work?

LEE WIND: You don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Get involved locally by thanking a librarian for including diverse titles in their collection. Read a book by a Black or LGBTQIA2+ or otherwise marginalized creator, and if you love it, spread the word. (Word of mouth is still the most powerful path to a book’s succeeding.) Join your local school board or library board to support the freedom to read. Vote.

You don’t have to do everything, but do something. After all, there is no such thing as a silent ally. Figure out how you can do more to support diverse books and their creators and publishers and librarian and teacher supporters than just being an ally in your mind.

As a cocreator of WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP, what have you learned from the people and organizations joining the campaign?

LEE WIND: There are lots of wonderful people and organizations fighting for the freedom to read, working on so many different levels of legislation, advocacy, publishing, and public opinion, at the federal, state, and very local levels, and we need it all. We need everyone doing something to help, and together we really can be stronger than censorship!

Are there any stories or moments that have reinforced why this work matters?

LEE WIND: It’s always encouraging to hear from readers about how the representation in something I wrote matters so much to them. I keep one note posted by my writing desk. It’s from a reader of The Gender Binary is a Big Lie: “I’m an ally and parent of a beautiful trans woman, so you can imagine my joy in reading your well-researched book. Everyone, every parent, every educator needs this.”

I think that’s how our world gets better. One book and one heart at a time. And maybe that’s why the book banners are so afraid of the power of books.

Sign Up

Looking ahead, what does success for WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP look like?

LEE WIND: As of writing this, we’ve bought and donated 5,050 books to offset 2,525 book challenges, and we’re asking for people’s help to donate so we can buy and distribute even more books.

Going into our third year, we’ll have a new cohort of 12 independent publishers that we’ll be buying books from, and hopefully, we can grow the number of books we’ll be donating.

I always bring myself back to that idea of the impact one book on one reader can have for the good. We’ve done it 5,050 times so far. And with the help of everyone reading this, we can do even more good in our world!

What would you like readers to do today to help strengthen the movement and ensure everyone has the freedom to read?

LEE WIND: If you can, please donate to WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP. A donation of $160 buys 20 books to offset 10 book challenges.

Want to wear your support? Buy a STRONG LIKE A READER T-shirt — your purchase includes a donation of $16 to buy 2 books to offset 1 book challenge. (We have a lot of fun shirt and sweatshirt designs, including STRONG LIKE A LIBRARIAN, STRONG LIKE AN AUTHOR, and more!)

We also have fun stickers that donate $1 per sticker (so every 16 stickers buys 2 books to offset 1 book challenge.) Spread the word about the truth about book banning, your favorite diverse read, and WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP. Remember, word of mouth is the most powerful marketing there is!

We thank Lee Wind for participating in this email interview. To support WE ARE STRONGER THAN CENSORSHIP, you can join the movement and spread the word with your friends and family.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.

#librarymarketers: Enjoy this story? Want to use it for your library newsletter, blog, or social media? This article is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.

This work by EveryLibrary is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

They Ban One Book, We Send Two was originally published in EveryLibrary on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Maurice Broaddus is a librarian, community organizer, and writer. In his view, it all ties together as part of the same mission: “to make the world a better place for us having passed through it.”

His writing spans Afrofuturism, horror, and speculative fiction — and he’s realized that different emotional states fuel his approach to different genres.

“I keep thinking about the scene in The Avengers, when Captain America asks Bruce Banner about him controlling being the Hulk,” he tells us. “Bruce turns to him and says, ‘That’s my secret, Cap. I’m always angry.’ In therapy, I had a revelation: When I’m writing horror, I’m processing my anger and trauma responses to the world around me. But when I’m writing science fiction, I’m writing from a place of future hope, a dreaming space. As I begin world-building from a blank page, I’m able to see in the world limitless possibilities.”

Broaddus describes himself as a daydreamer and views that as a positive quality.

“Daydreaming is a valuable skill set, one to be nurtured,” he says. “But it had to be harnessed and trained. But to do that, I need a safe place that would allow me room to dream. In high school, I developed my love of libraries. It was a thirty-minute walk to the neighborhood library from my high school. A trek I made every day, to hang out, to study, to just . . . be. It was my safe haven, a place I could find solace and escape. It was this magical place that had all these portals, called books — to be navigated by these instruments called ‘card catalogs’ — that transported me to new worlds. It’s where I was able to research new things, explore my imagination, and learn how to become a storyteller. The library was a place that allowed me the space to dream.”

Afrofuturism has been a major influence on how he approaches world-building and the reimagining of both history and the future. “Tananarive Due once said that ‘the act of dreaming of ourselves with a future is an act of resistance.’ Afrofuturism is how I choose to dream,” he tells us. “Like any futurist, I extrapolate roadmaps to tomorrow. However, as an Afrofuturist, that visioning is rooted in black history and culture. Afrofuturism creates a framework to critique our present-day situation by being rooted in the past while providing glimpses of what possible futures might look like. Afrofuturism is about Remembering, Resilience, and Resistance. It’s the intersection of the black cultural lens with art, technology, and liberation. As a bridge connecting the past to the future, Afrofuturism embraces the concept of Sankofa, a word in the Twi language (Ghana) that means ‘go back and get it’ or ‘it is not taboo to fetch what is at risk of being left behind.’”

Broaddus has written librarian characters, as in his story “The Legacy of Alexandria,” which he calls his love letter to libraries. Ms. Jywanza, his librarian character, says, “It’s an audacious, defiant act of hope to preserve books. To declare that these stories matter. To try to create a present that connects us to the future. We are a story that endures.”

Broaddus played a key role in restoring the Paul Laurence Dunbar Library and the Mari E. Evans Residency, which he established as a part of its restoration. “I always wanted my art to have a real-world impact, so this was huge for me,” he tells us. “But that’s also the first lesson I had to unlearn: It wasn’t about ‘me,’ it was about ‘we.’ The experience was about community accountability and relearning that being a librarian, a steward of culture, is a powerful responsibility. It’s about continuing the story of community resilience. That Afrofuturist practice of looking to the future, training up a new generation of artists and leaders.”

When Broaddus thinks about his work in literacy and community building, two quotes come to mind. “The first is from one of my characters in Sweep of Stars, Jaha, an elder in Muungano: ‘A storyteller is a master strategist. A skilled griot sees people as characters, participants in a tale. They apply motives and goals to people, because stories are driven by them.’ The other is from Lucille Clifton, who said, ‘We cannot create what we cannot imagine.’”

He is inspired by the West African tradition of the griot: a storyteller and oral historian who preserves and shares the traditions of their people. “I used to lament that I was ‘just a writer’ when faced with the problems of the world and yet charged to use my gifts and talents to make it a better place,” he tells us. “But this also makes me a community griot.”

Broaddus sees his griot role as a calling. “I am charged with telling the story of my community, to see, name, and celebrate my neighbors as gifts and treasures,” he says. “To preserve our history. To challenge, critique, speak truth to power. To preserve and proclaim our stories, to provide reminders that build our collective resilience. I am storytelling about our community because we have to control our narratives. If we don’t, we know that the news, police, and politicians will.”

He knows that this work is crucial. “As a librarian, as a writer, as a teacher, I am cognizant of the fact that we have a sacred responsibility,” he says. “Because I am a writer, I choose my words carefully, so let me repeat that: We have a sacred responsibility.”

He tells us:

“As writers, we are the creators of stories.

As librarians, we are the keepers of stories.

We are the cultural and institutional memory of our society.

As teachers, we have the responsibility to pass those stories down.

The stories that shape us as people.

The stories that shape us as a culture.

The stories that shape future generations.

This is how we begin to create the future we want to see. Together. To help make the world a better place. Together.”

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.

#librarymarketers: Enjoy this story? Want to use it for your library newsletter, blog, or social media? This article is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.

This work by EveryLibrary is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

Libraries Give Maurice Broaddus Space to Dream was originally published in EveryLibrary on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Rethinking the stigma behind how we consume stories

It is the question that every audiophile dreads:

“Does listening to an audiobook ‘count’ as reading?”

In truth, while the audiobook industry continues to thrive, the stigma persists that listening to a book is not as intellectually stimulating as reading it. In fact, according to a 2025 NPR/Ipsos poll, a startling 40 percent of American adults agreed that listening is not a form of reading, despite noted neuropsychologists having proven that the brain processes both mediums equally well.

I’ll come clean with you. Having worked in the audiobook industry in various capacities over the last fifteen years, I decided in 2026 to take a break from listening.

A few months later, my husband gave me a polite reminder of a promise I’d made to listen to the audiobook version of Agatha Christie’s Poirot novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, which he had gifted me quite some time ago.

Well, back in the saddle.

When I fired it up in the car on my way to run errands, the capable, clear voice of narrator and veteran actor Hugh Fraser immediately set the ominous tone appropriate to impending murder, coupled with the signature stoicism that makes British mysteries so entertaining. In one passage, Fraser threw in a deliberate mispronunciation of Poirot’s name (as PAW-rot) by a skeptical inspector of the case, and I began to think to myself, I would never have this experience just reading this on the page.

When freed from the professional responsibility of listening with a critical ear for an audiobook review or carefully finding errors to flag or snip out as I did in my former life as an audiobook proofer and editor, I was able to relax into the narrative. The marriage of a great book with a talented narrator can be magical, and my husband will join me in listening to a chapter or two on a car ride, creating a meaningful shared experience.

And, dear reader, I realized I had truly missed the warm, cozy sensation of someone reading to me. Mr. Fraser’s voice is active therapy amid the hot, stressful traffic of Houston, TX, which is a part of my current daily life.

Tavia Gilbert, founder and CEO of Talkbox Productions and 2017 Audie Award winner for Best Female Narrator, says audiobooks offer another avenue for libraries to expand public access to literacy.

“Audio is the most present, alive, high-vibration version of an author’s story,” shares Gilbert. “The medium brings a story off the page and creates three-dimensional space, because voice and breath — coupled with those sound waves — are matter, and a story has more matter as it is spoken aloud.”

While Gilbert has come across the cheating stigma, she largely ignores it because “there doesn’t need to be a hierarchy or superiority of reading.” Audiobooks can aid people who have difficulty making sense of words on the page, allowing them to embrace stories and worlds that might otherwise be entirely inaccessible to them.

“I’m not interested in other people’s judgments of how people connect to a story,” says Gilbert. “I know people who have been unable to read, and once they paired visually connecting with the printed text while listening to the audio text, they were able to improve their skills and become both functional and joyful readers.”

Expanding on this, Gilbert says she has friends and colleagues who prefer print but realize they can increase their reading time by including audio, while others listen exclusively because it is the most fulfilling and efficient way to enjoy literature.

In the past, I have both read and listened to a book, chapter by chapter, just because I enjoy hearing how the narrator interprets the text in their own creative, performative style. And as a full-time professional writer and busy mom to a young daughter, leisurely settling down to crack the spine on the latest tome with a cup of coffee is just not realistic in my current season of life.

With libraries across the United States prioritizing free and easy access to audiobooks through apps such as Libby, these institutions are supporting the oldest art form known to the human race: storytelling.

“Oral tradition was established well before print,” says Gilbert. “One of our human characteristics is that we need narrative. It’s not optional for us as a species; we make sense of our lives through narrative . . . it is completely in service of reading and of libraries themselves to encourage listening as reading.”

Need help finding the right audiobook for you? Gilbert recommends talking to a librarian about the genre of literature you enjoy most, narrowing down a few titles of interest, and then taking a listen to multiple audio samples.

“Don’t be put off if you don’t like the sound of one person’s voice, or if the book recommendation doesn’t grab you. Not every narrator is for everyone,” says Gilbert. “Sample a couple until you find the story you can sink into and fall in love with. Librarians are the greatest evangelists for audiobooks; they will steer you very well.”

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.

#librarymarketers: Enjoy this story? Want to use it for your library newsletter, blog, or social media? This article is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.

This work by EveryLibrary is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

Is Listening to a Book “Cheating”? was originally published in EveryLibrary on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

During Hispanic Heritage Month, libraries, archives, and other cultural institutions often highlight the collections they steward. Many offer resources that explore the rich history and culture of Hispanic communities, including special collections with rare items and in-depth information on a variety of historical and cultural topics.

These fascinating collections are usually available year-round and are often accessible to the public. They are valuable resources for people of any cultural background who want to learn more about Hispanic heritage.

There are many different collections around the country — some small, some large — and there may even be one at your local library. But a few truly stand out for the depth and uniqueness of their materials. Here are five must-see Hispanic heritage collections in the United States:

1. Hispanic Society Museum & Library (New York City)

Founded by philanthropist Archer Milton Huntington on May 18, 1904, the Hispanic Society Museum & Library in New York City serves as a free public museum and reference library dedicated to the art, history, and culture of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries. Its mission is to collect, preserve, study, exhibit, inspire appreciation for, and advance knowledge of relevant works of art, literature, and history.

The Museum contains many works of art from or related to Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, such as artworks by Spanish painter Francisco de Goya or historical earthenware from Latin America. The Library, which is restricted to students and researchers, contains many manuscripts and rare books, including the sole surviving leaf of the Valencian Bible and a first edition of the famous fifteenth-century work La Celestina.

2. Hispanic Reading Room at the Library of Congress (Washington, DC)

Founded in 1939, the Hispanic Reading Room was the first Area Studies reading room at the Library of Congress. It supports the study of Spanish, Portuguese, and Latin American culture. Millions of physical and digital items are available, many of which can be accessed online.

The collections include more than just books and manuscripts; they also contain artworks and archaeological artifacts, among many other items. The Reading Room houses the PALABRA Archive, a collection of audio recordings of prominent Luso-Hispanic writers such as Gabriel García Márquez, Pablo Neruda, and Isabel Allende.

3. Benson Latin American Collection at the University of Texas Libraries (Austin, TX)

Established in 1921, the Benson Latin American Collection is one of the most comprehensive collections of Latin American materials in the world. It holds more than a million books, along with rare and historical manuscripts, photographs, and other media related to Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and the Latinx presence in the United States.

The collection includes the Los del Valle Oral History Project, which is one of the first oral history projects to use video rather than strictly audio to record Latinx interviewees. It also houses the LLILAS Benson Digital Initiatives, which feature an array of digital collections, collaborations, and scholarly projects documenting the heritage of Latin American, US Latinx, African Diasporic, and Indigenous American communities.

4. New Jersey Hispanic Research and Information Center (Newark, NJ)

Founded in 2002 by the Newark Public Library and the Friends of the Hispanic Research Information Center, the New Jersey Hispanic Research and Information Center (NJHRIC) preserves the state’s Hispanic history through three major sections: the Sala Hispanoamericana, the Hispanic Reference Collection, and the Puerto Rican Community Archives.

The Sala Hispanoamericana is New Jersey’s largest collection of Spanish-language library resources, serving immigrants who need materials in their first language. The Hispanic Reference Collection includes newspapers, clippings, and oral histories in both English and Spanish that document the state’s diverse Hispanic communities. The Puerto Rican Community Archives contain primary resources on the history and culture of New Jersey’s Puerto Rican community.

5. Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries’ Latin American Collections at Vanderbilt University (Nashville, TN)

The Latin American collections at Vanderbilt University’s Jean and Alexander Heard Libraries are varied and distinctive. Vanderbilt founded the first Institute of Brazilian Studies in the United States, which later became their Center for Latin American Studies — recognized by the Department of Education as a comprehensive National Resource Center for the study of Latin America.

These collections support programs in a variety of areas, including history, politics, Spanish and Portuguese literature, fine arts, and anthropology. Materials include written accounts from early European explorers of Latin America; manuscripts and other primary records documenting the experiences of enslaved and free Black communities in Cuba, Colombia, and Brazil; and extensive resources on Colombian history and culture.

If you’re curious about Hispanic heritage, explore these collections or look for one at your library. You can also attend your local branch’s programs celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month. Diverse cultural materials like these are important to preserve, so stay engaged with EveryLibrary’s advocacy work to protect access to these valuable collections.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.

#librarymarketers: Enjoy this story? Want to use it for your library newsletter, blog, or social media? This article is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.

This work by EveryLibrary is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

5 Must-See Hispanic Heritage Collections was originally published in EveryLibrary on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Public libraries are built on a simple promise: providing everyone in the community with free access to books, technology, and lifelong learning tools. However, these essential spaces do not run on their own. They rely heavily on public support, particularly at the ballot box.

Whether a library can purchase new books and materials, stay open on weekends, or keep its doors open at all often comes down to voters in the community. Understanding how elections affect your local branch is the single best way to protect the resources you and your neighbors rely on every day.

How Elections Shape Your Library

Many people assume libraries receive guaranteed government funding, but local elections directly dictate how these community hubs operate.

A large portion of library funding comes from voter-approved measures, such as small property tax adjustments or community bonds. This money pays for building repairs, staff salaries, programming, new books, and digital tools. City and county leaders also make major choices regarding annual library budgets and long-term plans.

When voters support library measures at the ballot box, branches can expand their hours, add new programs, and upgrade technology. When funding measures fail, libraries are often forced to cut hours, reduce staff, or eliminate popular services, such as Hoopla. Every single vote directly impacts what your local library can offer.

Library Services Powered by Public Support

Reliable funding allows libraries to offer free services for people of all ages. These programs exist only because communities actively choose to invest in them:

• Early Literacy and Children’s Services. Storytimes and reading programs help young children build strong reading skills before starting school.
• Homework Help and Tutoring. Safe study areas, after-school programs, and tutoring resources give students a place to succeed.
• Technology Access. Fast wifi, desktop computers, free printing, and mobile hotspots bridge the digital gap for families without internet at home.
• Workforce Development. Free résumé help, job-search tools, and test-prep guides assist community members looking for work.
• Digital Collections. Expansive collections of ebooks, audiobooks, and specialized databases are available online day and night.
• Community Gathering Spaces. Meeting rooms give neighborhood groups, study partners, and teens a welcoming place to collaborate.

Without voter support, these everyday tools and programs face immediate budget cuts.

National Voter Registration Day: A Time to Take Action

A clear way to protect these valuable services is by participating in National Voter Registration Day. This nationwide effort helps people register to vote, update their home address, and learn about voting rules in their state.

It is also a great opportunity to learn how voting affects third places like libraries. Joining in on this day ensures your voice is heard when decisions are made about your town or city.

How Libraries Help You Register to Vote

Libraries play an active, nonpartisan role during election season. They serve as neutral community hubs where anyone can get ready to cast an informed vote.

On National Voter Registration Day, many libraries set up voting tables near the main entrance. Staff members and volunteers help visitors check their registration status, fill out forms, and understand election rules. Many branches also offer space for civic groups to assist first-time voters, providing the facts and tools needed to participate in democracy.

Take Action Today

Your vote is one of the most powerful tools you have to protect your local library. Mark National Voter Registration Day on your calendar, stop by your neighborhood branch to check your voter status, and remember to support your library when it appears on the ballot.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.

#librarymarketers: Enjoy this story? Want to use it for your library newsletter, blog, or social media? This article is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.

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Why Your Library Needs Your Vote was originally published in EveryLibrary on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Everyone’s journey is different, and for some people, that means an unconventional education. In fact, about 59 million adults in the US have low-level literacy skills, which can contribute to systemic barriers that make certain resources difficult to access.

Public libraries connect community members with vital tools to support their educational journeys. September 14–18 is Adult Education and Family Literacy Week (AEFL), a time to share and increase access to resources that support lifelong learners. Libraries offer free classes, learning materials, and more to help adult learners succeed in their careers and beyond.

Literacy Programs

Libraries develop literacy programs for all ages. For younger children, storytimes encourage a love of reading in a stimulating learning environment. For older children and young adults, libraries host classes covering a variety of topics, including literacy.

The Camden County Library System in New Jersey offers a Basic Literacy Program providing free reading and math education for adults below a sixth-grade reading level. Participants apply to the program and, if accepted, are paired with a tutor at the library.

The Harris County Public Library in Texas offers Growing Readers Early Literacy, helping children develop early reading skills alongside their caregivers. From birth to preschool, participants sing, talk, write, read, and play to prepare for school.

Workforce Development Resources

Trying to jumpstart your job search or seek a new career path? If it’s been a while or you don’t have much experience, the process can feel overwhelming. Thankfully, public libraries offer free, accessible workforce development resources to help. Library patrons can touch up their résumés, look up local job listings, or check out career books.

For people aiming to expand their English skills or obtain US citizenship, the Cuyahoga County Public Library provides free classes. Their Aspire Greater Cleveland program includes beginner, intermediate, and advanced English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL). Additionally, participants can take classes that guide them through the naturalization process and help them pass the US Citizenship Test.

Digital Skills Training

Digital literacy is important as technology continues to advance. Librarians help young people keep up with new devices and help adults catch up. Public libraries offer classes, one-on-one assistance, and free access to technology. Some libraries even have digital librarians who specialize in archiving and staying up to date on innovations to share with the community.

The Detroit Public Library in Michigan has its own designated Technology, Literacy, & Career (TLC) Center. Community members can schedule a one-on-one résumé-building session by contacting the library via phone or email. Other services include computer classes, device help, and a literacy program.

Community Partnerships

It can take a village to run a library, so branches sometimes partner with community organizations to help run their programs. One example is the Friends of the Hennepin County Library (HCL) in Minneapolis. According to their mission statement, the group works to “build awareness, appreciation, and support for their nationally acclaimed library.”

One program the Friends fundraise for is library outreach. In this case, the library comes to the community. Library outreach can be vital for older people and those with disabilities or illnesses. For HCL, approximately eighteen thousand items are delivered to one thousand at-home patrons with help from fundraising by the Friends of the Library.

Celebrate Adult Education and Family Literacy Week

Literacy resources increase confidence, improve job readiness, and foster stronger family learning environments. Whether you’re preparing for a GED or learning new skills, your library can help you achieve your next goal. In celebration of AEFL, explore your local branch’s adult education and family literacy programs to find out how to get involved.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.

#librarymarketers: Enjoy this story? Want to use it for your library newsletter, blog, or social media? This article is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.

This work by EveryLibrary is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

How Libraries Strengthen Adult and Family Literacy, One Program at a Time was originally published in EveryLibrary on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

For thirty years, Pokémon has been a major part of pop culture. It began with the Pokémon Red and Pokémon Green video games in Japan in 1996 and quickly grew far beyond video games. The Pokémon Trading Card Game, animated series, and other forms of entertainment helped turn it into a global phenomenon with fans of all ages.

One reason Pokémon has remained popular for so long is its ability to change while still feeling familiar. New games, cards, characters, and stories continue to attract younger fans, while adults who grew up with Pokémon can now share it with their own children.

A Natural Partnership

Libraries are a natural home for Pokémon clubs. They are welcoming community spaces where children can learn, play, and meet others without the pressure to buy something. Pokémon also encourages many of the same things libraries value, including exploration, creativity, learning, and friendly competition.

There is now an official connection between the two. The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) have partnered with The Pokémon Company International (TPCi) to bring Pokémon clubs to school and public libraries. Participating libraries can receive materials and activities designed to help young players learn, play, and connect.

For families, this means the library can be a comfortable place for children to enjoy an interest they already love while discovering new skills and making new friends.

Benefits for Kids and Teens

Pokémon clubs may look like simple fun, but they can support learning and personal growth in several ways.

• Social Connection. Clubs give kids and teens a chance to meet people who share their interests and make new friends outside of school.
• Confidence and Belonging. A welcoming club can help young people feel more comfortable joining a group, speaking up, and taking part in activities.
• Literacy and Reading. The Pokémon Trading Card Game asks players to read card text, rules, and instructions carefully. Understanding what each card does is part of learning how to play.
• Strategic Thinking. Players need to plan ahead, solve problems, make choices, and use basic math during a game.
• Teamwork. Playing with others gives kids practice in communication, patience, good sportsmanship, and turn-taking.
• Creativity. Pokémon clubs can include drawing, crafts, games, puzzles, and other activities that encourage kids to use their imagination.

By bringing these skills together, Pokémon clubs transform a popular hobby into a valuable learning space for young patrons.

More Than a Place for Books

Programs like Pokémon clubs are another example of how public libraries respond to the interests of their communities. Libraries give young people a welcoming place to spend time, try something new, and connect face to face.

These programs also show why strong community support for libraries matters. Stable funding helps libraries provide staff, meeting spaces, supplies, and programs for people of all ages. Libraries can also welcome community partners that offer other useful services, including groups that help eligible new voters find registration information and civic resources.

Find a Club at Your Local Library

If your child or teen loves Pokémon, check with your local library to see what is available. Your branch may already offer a Pokémon club or another youth gaming program. If it does not, asking about one can be a good place to start.

A Pokémon club can turn a familiar interest into a chance to read, think, create, play, and make new friends, all at your local library.

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.

#librarymarketers: Enjoy this story? Want to use it for your library newsletter, blog, or social media? This article is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.

This work by EveryLibrary is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

Why Libraries Are the Perfect Home for Pokémon Clubs was originally published in EveryLibrary on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

This past April, the inaugural Be Mighty for Your Library Challenge brought schools and public libraries together to empower kids to “do three simple things: use their library, check out a book, and write a short poem about why their library matters.” EveryLibrary partnered with One Word at a Time and #1 New York Times best-selling author Kwame Alexander to celebrate his new book The Mighty Macy and show young library patrons how they can be mighty too.

The challenge encouraged young people to sign up for library cards, check out books, bring friends to the library, attend library programs, and write poems about their library to celebrate National Poetry Month.

Barbara Chappell-Brown, the teacher-librarian at Black Mountain Middle School who retired in June, participated in the Be Mighty for Your Library Challenge and was selected, along with her library and local community, as one of the inaugural winners. The challenge inspired her to collaborate more with her local public library: the Rancho Peñasquitos branch of the San Diego Public Library, also known as PQ Library. Branch Manager Uyen Tran hosted Mrs. Brown for a three-hour poetry workshop in their community room and displayed the poetry and artwork in the children’s area.

“PQ Library has been written up in The New York Times because of a patron who tried to ban LGBTQ books, but it didn’t work,” she tells us. “The community rallied and purchased new books for the library that the banning patron refused to return.”

Mrs. Brown sees this challenge as a reminder that libraries need to stick together to share ideas, strategies, and resources. “You have to, in this disturbing climate of reduced funding for all libraries. Libraries are safe places in the storms that blow through our communities in real ways. Libraries also become shelters in bad weather.”

She was especially moved to see a little boy named Issac write his first acrostic poem. “I asked him to describe himself, and he told me that he was super fast. I included that when we were brainstorming. I love the enthusiasm of the little ones. They still love to read and to learn new things.” Across the country, libraries created poetry walls and encouraged young people to share why libraries matter to them.

Kwame Alexander compares libraries to rainbows during difficult times. Mrs. Brown sees rainbows as a symbol of hope for all kinds of people.

“Today, the rainbow represents rebirth and a covenant from God,” she tells us. “The rainbow is used in many ways today to include the LGBTQ population, too. As a teacher-librarian, I try to be inclusive for all my students, regardless of background. I tried to include diverse books to represent my student population. Students need to see themselves represented in the books that they read. In addition, I have a sign in the front entrance of the library that reads, Everyone is welcome here.”

Mrs. Brown hopes that her positive experience participating in the Be Mighty for Your Library Challenge will galvanize others to do the same. When libraries come together for a common cause, the whole community benefits.

“I hope that people understand that libraries are under attack because of lack of funding and conservative political pushback. It is important that our school board and government leaders do the jobs that the people voted them to do,” she tells us. “It is important to protect libraries and our democracy. Libraries provide resources to all members of the community. It is important to fund libraries so that we can continue to support all people in our communities with print, electronic resources, and more. Libraries are being asked to do more with less funding.”

Mrs. Brown also pointed out that libraries’ services to their local communities go far beyond books and what many people associate with libraries. “Some libraries also provide safe spaces for youth and cooling spaces for the elderly during the height of a hot summer,” she says. She also mentioned additional library resources such as programs for homeless youth, employment help for immigrants and low-income people, and hygiene products for those unable to afford them. Libraries also provide access to computers and printing — sometimes even 3D printing and technology classes.

“Please continue to support libraries in our communities, because it is so important not to have dry communities without them,” she says. “There will be no hope and no rainbows. I hope that doesn’t happen.”

Visit www.everylibrary.org to learn more about our work on behalf of libraries.

#librarymarketers: Enjoy this story? Want to use it for your library newsletter, blog, or social media? This article is published under Creative Commons License Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International and is free to edit and use with attribution. Please cite EveryLibrary on medium.com/everylibrary.

This work by EveryLibrary is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0

A Safe Place in the Storm: Barbara Chappell-Brown on Libraries was originally published in EveryLibrary on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

On August 8, 2026, the nation’s first public nature library opened its doors in Thornton, Colorado. The Anythink Nature Library combines traditional library services with outdoor spaces and resources designed to help people spend more time in nature.

The library sits on a fifteen-acre campus next to the 140-acre Aylor Open Lands. The 33,000-square-foot space is meant to welcome people to nature, whatever their experience level.

More Than Books

The Nature Library still offers the services patrons expect from a public library, but the experience extends beyond the walls. Visitors can explore gardens, gathering spaces, an art-and-science lab, a living plant wall, sensory environments, and a water-flow and mud pit. An outdoor trail called the Root to Sky Loop also winds through the surrounding shortgrass prairie ecosystem. The loop is expected to connect to the regional trail system on the adjacent Aylor Open Lands by the end of 2027, once the city of Thornton completes its prairie restoration there.

Davis Partnership Architects and THK Associates designed the building and landscape, with construction by GH Phipps. The project took roughly two years to build and cost an estimated $43.4 million. The project is also pursuing LEED Gold certification.

Anythink developed the library using the Environmental Kinship model, an approach that encourages people to learn about, in, with, and for nature. Community members, along with Indigenous and Native American leaders serving on the Anythink Nature Library Advisory Council, helped shape the project.

Nature You Can Take Home

One of the library’s most practical features is its collection of TryIts, Anythink’s experiential kits and equipment, available for checkout with any library card. The library opened with roughly 550 items across sixty-five collections, including bird-watching kits, wildlife cameras, hiking gear, microscopes, weather-exploration tools, gardening equipment, nature art kits, and conservation resources.

Anythink’s director of external relations and brand strategy, RyAnne Scott, said the branch aims to encourage kids to “get in the mud and get dirty.”

For patrons, that means trying something new doesn’t require buying all the gear up front. Someone curious about birding can borrow a kit, families can test out nature-based activities together, or a budding gardener can borrow equipment and learn along the way.

This is the same logic behind many “Library of Things” collections found at libraries nationwide. These programs lend everything from power tools to museum passes. This gives patrons access to items they may not be able to purchase themselves.

Why Access to Nature Matters

The idea behind the Nature Library speaks to a larger issue. Access to outdoor space and the benefits it provides is not distributed equally. A 2024 study of nearly 123,000 urban parks across the United States found significant disparities in park amenities between neighborhoods. Research has also linked time in nature to personal well-being. One widely cited study found that spending at least two hours in nature per week was associated with better self-reported health.

Nearly half of Thornton residents say they want more natural open space. More than half of Adams County residents consider parks, trails, and open space essential to the county’s way of life. Most libraries don’t need 33,000 square feet or a mud pit to make nature more accessible. Even a small step in that direction counts.

A Model Other Libraries Can Borrow

For some libraries, bringing nature indoors might mean launching a gardening program or partnering with a local park. It could mean lending binoculars and camping gear. For others, it could mean helping patrons learn about the plants, wildlife, and trails already in their communities. Anythink’s Nature Library takes that idea further than most. One visitor described it as “REI meets a library.”

The branch calls itself the nation’s first public nature library. Similar ideas already exist in other forms. Nature centers, forest schools, and some university extension libraries offer pieces of the same concept. The “first-of-its-kind” claim applies specifically to public library systems, not to nature-based education spaces in general.

Not every library needs to become a nature library like this one in Colorado. Plenty of libraries have a park, a trail, or a garden nearby that they could put to good use. Projects like this don’t happen without public investment. EveryLibrary helps communities fight for library funding and the ballot measures that make them possible.

The Library of the Future Has a Mud Pit was originally published in EveryLibrary on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.