Veterans Day is November 11.
19 million
Current number of US veterans, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The figure refers to living people who have actively served in the armed forces.
115,000
Number of collections—which often include oral history recordings, manuscripts, and photographic materials related to an individual service member—held by the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.
89%
Percentage of US veterans who are men; 11% are women. By 2046, the share of female veterans is expected to increase to 18%, according to the Pew Research Center.
2013
Year that Sedona (Ariz.) Public Library started Coffee with a Vet, a monthly program that gives community members an opportunity to meet local veterans and learn their stories.
8
Number of weeks that veterans spent learning filmmaking and storytelling skills through Veterans Make Movies, a program sponsored by Los Angeles Public Library and Los Angeles County Museum of Art. The Institute of Museum and Library Services–funded initiative ran from 2016 to 2019 and gave cohorts a safe space to explore the veteran experience through art and share short films with the public.
$488,501
Amount awarded to the library schools at University of Texas at Austin, University of Hawaii at Manoa, and San José (Calif.) State University in 2017 by the Laura Bush 21st Century Library Program to help more US veterans become librarians. The grant allowed recipients to provide scholarships for 12 veterans to attend MLIS programs and hire researchers to study how veterans chose their LIS careers.
7
Number of years that Indiana University South Bend Libraries has hosted its Veterans Book Club. About 10–15 students, faculty members, and community members attend each meeting, and guest speakers have included authors Judithe Schiess Avila, Mike Dowling, and Dr. Michael J. Mann.
