IN honor of National Library Week and School Library Month, CNMI librarians invite the general public to join their Annual #WakeUpAndReadCNMI Literacy Campaign on Wednesday, April 12, 2023 by taking a picture of one’s self reading a book, newspaper, or magazine and posting the photo to any social media platform (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube, blog, website) using the hashtag #wakeupandreadcnmi.
April 12 is also National Drop Everything And Read or D.E.A.R. Day, a holiday first popularized by American writer Beverly Cleary, in her book “Ramona Quimby, Age 8.” It was intended for everyone to dedicate at least 30 minutes to silent sustained reading, putting aside all distractions. The goal was to improve childhood literacy by modeling that reading is both enjoyable and deeply personal.
In the mid-1950s, research showed that Americans were spending less on books and more on radios, televisions and musical instruments. Concerned that Americans were reading less, the American Library Association and the American Book Publishers formed the National Book Committee in 1954. With the cooperation of ALA and with help from the Advertising Council, the first National Library Week was observed in 1958 with the theme “Wake Up and Read!”
In 2006, HarperCollins Children’s Books, in collaboration with the National Education Association and other educational institutions, established D.E.A.R. Day to commemorate Cleary’s 90th birthday. In the CNMI, the librarians first launched the social media campaign on April 12, 2018, making this the sixth annual observance in the commonwealth.
Librarians promote literacy by providing access to materials that encourage growth and knowledge and that meet individual needs, varied interests, abilities, socioeconomic backgrounds and maturity levels of the patrons served. They provide a safe space for the free expression of ideas and intellectual thought.
In the words of American Comedian Paula Poundstone, “It’s funny that we think of libraries as quiet demure places where we are shushed by dusty, bun-balancing, bespectacled women. The truth is libraries are raucous clubhouses for free speech, controversy and community. Librarians have stood up to the Patriot Act, sat down with noisy toddlers, and reached out to illiterate adults. Libraries can never be shushed.”
