Rockford Sun

In an April 24 Facebook post, Rep. Joe Sosnowski (R-Rockford) cheered National Library Week and encouraged his constituents to visit libraries across the district.

"It's National Library Week!" Sosnowski posted. "Be sure to 'check out' all the great libraries in your area - those that serve the people of the 69th District include: Rockford Public Library - East Branch Cherry Valley Public Library District Ida Public Library, Belvidere Marengo-Union Library District Harvard Diggins Library Huntley Area Public Library Nippersink Public Library District, Richmond lillefreelibrary.org. Also, be on the lookout for our Kickin' It Summer Reading Program for K-6th grade students coming to a mailbox near you by the end of this week!"

National Library Week was first celebrated in 1958. The American Library Association sponsors National Library Week and sets themes, organizing daily activities. This week's theme is "There's More to the Story." This week's activities include: Monday, April 24: Right to Read Day, a day for readers, advocates, and library lovers to take action to protect, defend, and celebrate the right to read. State of America's Libraries Report released. Tuesday, April 25: National Library Workers Day, a day for library staff, users, administrators, and Friends groups to recognize the valuable contributions made by all library workers. Wednesday, April 26: National Library Outreach Day (formerly National Bookmobile Day), a day to celebrate library outreach and the dedicated library professionals who are meeting their patrons where they are. Thursday, April 27: Take Action for Libraries Day, a day to rally advocates to support libraries.

As part of National Library Week, the American Library Association releases its annual "State of America's Libraries" report. In the report, titled "Pandemic: Year Two," the report notes that libraries across the nation served their readers and patrons in a variety of ways. This is outlined in the PDF, which can be found here.

The report also notes that "ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 729 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2021, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals. Most targeted books were by or about Black or LGBTQIA+ persons."

In March, the Illinois House of Representatives passed House Bill 2789, which prohibit libraries from banning books or other material because of partisan or doctrinal pressure, according to ABC7.

Sosnowski was first elected to the Illinois General Assembly in 2010. He currently represents the 69th District which includes portions of Winnebago, Boone, and McHenry counties.