New Yorkers Organize 24-Hour Read-In for Libraries!
Remember when I told NYC people to stay tuned for announcements about library advocacy opportunities during this spring budget cut season? Well, listen up, New Yorkers, because here comes a fun event for youse!
The grassroots advocacy group Urban Librarians Unite (of which I am a member) is holding their annual 24-Hour Read-In in support of libraries on the steps of the Central Library in Brooklyn. The event starts at 4pm on Saturday, June 8th and ends at 4pm on Sunday, June 9th. Yes, that’s a full 24 hours. (You don’t have to stay for the entire duration, I promise.)
If you would like to participate, you can sign up here for a 15 minute slot during which you can read pretty much anything of your choosing. (I’m not sure what I’m going to read this year – the past two years I read Audrey Niffenegger’s amazing dark graphic picture book The Night Bookmobile – but I’m leaning toward something Golden Girls-related.) And if you DON’T want to read out loud, it’s fun to just hang out and see what other people have chosen.
You can find more details about the Read-In and check out the brief list of “rules” (like saving the more salacious material for the late-night hours) here on the ULU site.
This could be you!
If you want to help spread the word on Facebook like all the cool kids do these days, here’s the link to the Read-In’s event invitation.
And if you haven’t had QUITE enough, Boing Boing covered the Read-In nicely. (Just, um, ignore some of the comments.)
BONUS: in case you missed it, listen to ULU’s own Christian and Lauren discuss the Read-In (and library advocacy in general) on the Brian Lehrer show: “Librarians In the Streets.” Good stuff.
And that’s enough advocacy plugging for now. Viva la libraries!
