150 YEARS STRONG

The History of School Library Month

April is School Library Month, when school librarians across the U.S. are encouraged to host activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school libraries play in transforming learning. For more than 40 years, School Library Month has highlighted the vital role school libraries play in the lives and education of our nation’s youth. It has a fascinating history.

The American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) efforts for a national School Library Month were spearheaded by Lucille Cole Thomas, chair of the School Library Media Month Committee. Thomas began her career as a librarian at Brooklyn Public Library, and she went on to serve with the New York City Board of Education as librarian (1956-1968), supervisor of library services (1968-1977), and as assistant director of the office of library, media and telecommunications (1977-1983). In 1974, April 30 was designated by New York Governor Malcom Wilson as “New York State School Library Media Day” thanks to Thomas’s efforts.

Lucille Cole Thomas
Lucille Cole Thomas

Thomas was appointed to the School Library Media Month Committee by AASL President Judy King in 1983. She and her committee diligently gathered ideas from previous state and local celebrations for school libraries and compiled a 52-page handbook for the first national observance. On April 1, 1985, their work culminated with the official start of School Library Media Month, which kicked off at a ceremony on the west steps of the U.S. Capitol. The theme of the first national observance was “Where Learning Never Ends: The School Library Media Center.”

Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.) delivered the keynote address at the inaugural event.

“I want to thank you for what you do,” Moynihan told the school librarians gathered at the Capitol. “I hope you know how important your work is. You change lives for the better. You touch people while they can still be touched.”

The Spring 1985 issue of School Library Media Quarterly. The cover shows photos from the first national observance of School Library Month.
The Spring 1985 issue of School Library Media Quarterly. The cover shows photos from the first national observance of School Library Month.

In 2010, the name of the celebration was changed to School Library Month after the Board of Directors voted to readopt the professional title “school librarian,” from the former “school library media specialist.”

Listen to a 2012 interview with Lucille Cole Thomas about the founding of School Library Month below.

The above was excerpted and adapted from “AASL Celebrates First National School Library Media Month,” which appeared in the Spring 1985 issue of School Library Media Quarterly (p. 83-84), and other sources.

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