Presidents’ Day is February 20 1955 Year Congress passed the Presidential Libraries Act, establishing the Presidential Library System. Before that, many presidents’ archives were lost, destroyed, or separated. 887,000 Number of copies of Barack Obama’s 2020 memoir, A Promised Land, that sold in the US and Canada within the first day of publication—a record for … Continue reading By the Numbers: Presidents’ Day
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 … Continue reading By the Numbers: Veterans
19th Century in which Halloween was popularized in the US, thanks in part to the arrival of Irish and Scottish immigrants. Halloween has its roots in the ancient Celtic festival Samhain. 65% Percentage of US consumers who planned to celebrate Halloween in 2021, according to a National Retail Federation survey. 6 Number of live “ghostcams” … Continue reading By the Numbers: Halloween
June is Audiobook Appreciation Month. 1998 Year the Audio Publishers Association—which represents the audiobook industry—established June as Audiobook Appreciation Month. 71,000 Number of audiobooks published in the United States in 2020. 1975 Year that the company Books on Tape was founded by Duvall Hecht, an Olympic gold medalist in rowing and a former Marine Corps … Continue reading By the Numbers: Audiobook Appreciation Month
May is Older Americans Month. 1963 Year President John F. Kennedy established Senior Citizens Month, now called Older Americans Month. 2030 Year when all baby boomers—those born between 1946 and 1964—will be at least 65 years old. 43% Percentage of baby boomers in the US who visited a public library or bookmobile over a 12-month … Continue reading By the Numbers: Older Americans Month
1996 Year the Academy of American Poets launched National Poetry Month in April. According to the organization, the observance reminds the public that poetry matters and that poets have an integral role to play in our culture. 3 Number of books released by poet Amanda Gorman last year. Titles included the poetry anthology Call Us … Continue reading By the Numbers: Poetry
Stats to honor Valentine’s Day (February 14) and Random Acts of Kindness Week (February 13–19). 1,100 Number of public submissions received for Love Letters in Light, a poetry project conceived by artist Leila Hamidi in partnership with Los Angeles County Library (LACL) and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. In May 2021, LED signs … Continue reading By the Numbers: Love and Libraries
350 Number of classes offered annually through Free Library of Philadelphia’s (FLP) Culinary Literacy Center. According to FLP, this kitchen classroom is the first of its kind created at a public library in the US. $9,000 Amount that Chattanooga (Tenn.) Public Library spent on a Charlie Cart—a mobile kitchen that includes a convection oven, an … Continue reading By the Numbers: Food
50 Number of countries represented at the United Nations (UN) Conference on International Organization in San Francisco from April 25 to June 26, 1945. Representatives wrote a charter for the UN with the hope of preventing another world war. The organization officially formed four months later, on October 24. 1947 Year the UN General Assembly … Continue reading By the Numbers: United Nations Day
19 Date in June when Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the US, is observed. The holiday is also sometimes called Freedom Day or Emancipation Day. 1865 Year that US General Gordon Granger arrived with 2,000 Union troops in Galveston, Texas, on June 19 with news that the Civil … Continue reading By the Numbers: Juneteenth
May is National Bike Month. 2008 Year that Gabriel Levinson, often described as the founding father of the present-day book bike, began riding his custom-built Haley book tricycle around Chicago’s parks to hand out free materials. He later partnered with Chicago Public Library to continue distribution. 260 Pounds of cargo, the maximum that a standard-model … Continue reading By the Numbers: National Bike Month
15 Number of years National Deaf History Month has been celebrated. In 2006, the American Library Association (ALA) and National Association of the Deaf announced the month would be observed March 13–April 15. 1817 Year the first permanent public school for Deaf students in the Western Hemisphere—now known as the American School for the Deaf—was … Continue reading By the Numbers: Deaf History and Culture
