History of National Librarian Day
Libraries
can be traced back for many centuries, when they were originally used to store
and organize collections of documents. Around the 8th century BC, a wealthy
king of Assyria created a library and he was the first person in history to
introduce the concept of librarians or “keepers of books”.
Sometime
after 323 BC, the Great Library of Alexandria was established for Greek
literature and its librarians were also famous scholars. Moving forward in
time, from Humphrey Chetham, who started the first public
reference library in England, to Benjamin Franklin who was instrumental in
starting several libraries when the US got its start, libraries have continued
to be a vital part of the world in the past and going forward.
National
Librarian Day got its start in 1958
when it was sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA). The day wasn’t
celebrated every year, though, until 2004 when it got resurgence. It was then
that the ALA revived National Librarian Day as part of a campaign to raise
awareness for the appreciation of library staff. The day is now celebrated
annually as a way to celebrate the work that librarians do as well as educating
the local community about the importance and necessity of these folks.
