"Snapshot Days are spreading like wildfire!” exclaims Marci Merola, director of ALA’s Office for Library Advocacy. “You know you have a great idea when in just a matter of months and with a minimal push from ALA half the country gets involved.
Since the launch of the National Snapshot Day idea at the 2010 Midwinter Meeting, 25 states, from Hawaii to Maine, have planned or committed to planning a library snapshot day. This national effort was the work of the Advocacy Coordinating Group, part of the ALA Committee on Library Advocacy.
“Representatives from the New Jersey State Library and New Jersey Library Association presented the idea at the 2009 Annual Conference and the Advocacy Coordinating Group quickly saw its potential,” says Merola.
By Midwinter, a primer had been created by Peggy Cadigan of the New Jersey State Library and the Advocacy Coordinating Group targeted April as the month for states nationwide to hold their events.
Although April was the target date, says Merola, many states plan to continue hosting Library Snapshot Days. “It’s an easy way for libraries to quickly produce much-needed statistics, stories, and photos of a day in the life of libraries across the country,” she says, and “from my perspective, I’m thrilled to see all walks of the profession coming together through this coordinating group to get this initiative off the ground. They’re already talking about taking it to the international level.”
Read a Library Snapshot Day case study: "Wisconsin Says 'Cheese'!" online or in the June-July issue of American Libraries.