Fresno City College is just one of millions of libraries all over the country that celebrates National Library Week. This annual celebration was created by the American Library Association (ALA) in 1958 as a way to encourage reading.

This year, National Library Week took place from April 3-9 and was themed “Connect with Your Library,’ and was chosen to promote all of the technology resources that libraries provide.

FCC celebrates National Library Week by hosting events on campus and online as well. 

The library offered a library themed bingo and trivia night, which students were able to participate in virtually. The prizes for the night included a selection of reading stickers and a $5 gift card to Ampersand Ice Cream.

The FCC Library also put out a social media challenge to students, faculty and pets to dress up as their favorite book characters. One of the characters that was featured on the FCC Library’s Instagram was Llama llama from “Llama llama Red Pajama” by Ana Dewdney, which was dressed up by librarian Shivon Hess. 

The library also provided activity booklets that were able to be picked up in the library during National Library Week. 

The students and faculty were able to spend some down-time on a word search puzzle and coloring pages. For those who were not on campus, the library provided a printable version of the activity booklet as well. 

FCC Librarian Shivon Hess said that since the pandemic, libraries have had to pivot to majority online in order to provide more virtual access to students and faculty. 

Although the theme for National Library Week is “Connect with Your Library,” the FCC library is more than just a place to access books, whether it be online or in-person. Libraries provide access to not only computers, printers and books, but it also provides students with a safe and quiet space to work. 

“Libraries can serve a lot of needs for the community and we can’t take it for granted,” said Hess. 

The themes for National Library Week change annually and Hess hopes that next year more students will be back on campus and able to participate in the events.

To learn more about library resources and hours: https://www.fresnocitycollege.edu/academics/library/index.html