SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today issued a proclamation declaring April 7-13, 2024, as “California Library Week.”
The text of the proclamation and a copy can be found below:
PROCLAMATION
During National Library Week, we celebrate the essential services, resources and opportunities that libraries and library workers provide for all Californians. Free and open to all, each of our 1,127 public libraries is a critical community hub for education and lifelong learning, health and wellness, civic engagement and workforce and economic development.
Our state’s public libraries provide hundreds of thousands of programs each year, adapting to the needs of Californians. They offer online tutoring, adult literacy programs, summer reading, test prep, resources for science, technology, engineering, the arts and math (STEAM), early learning for infants and toddlers, meals for children and services for jobseekers. They provide free Wi-Fi and house collaborative work spaces, career centers, quiet spaces for studying and community gardens. Libraries also support community resilience by serving as heating and cooling centers, technology and communication providers and as safe places during emergencies.
California’s library workers play an essential civic role, helping people of all ages and all backgrounds access the resources, programs and services they need and serving as a key source for trusted information. Librarians help us start new chapters at every stage of our lives, from showing us the magic of reading as children to teaching us new skills in our golden years, with expanded digital access offering more opportunities than ever before.
All too often, libraries – and librarians – face censorship and attacks amid rising school and library book challenges, many targeting LGBTQ+ authors and writers of color. It is more important than ever that we recognize the significance of books and materials that reflect the breadth of our rich diversity and defend the essential role of public libraries in protecting intellectual freedom.
In California, we know libraries hold more than books — they are the heart of our communities. During National Library Week, we honor our libraries and library workers and the endless possibilities they offer to enrich the lives of Californians across the state.
NOW THEREFORE I, GAVIN NEWSOM, Governor of the State of California, do hereby proclaim April 7-13, 2024, as “California Library Week.”
IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Great Seal of the State of California to be affixed this 5th day of April 2024.
GAVIN NEWSOM
Governor of California
ATTEST:
SHIRLEY N. WEBER, Ph.D.
Secretary of State
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