Friends of the Library of Tampa-Hillsborough County

This National Library Week, join PBS Books, Indie Lens Pop-Up & Librarian Heather-Marie Montilla and Daniel Montgomery, Executive Director of the American Library Association, as they explore the impact of libraries on our culture, civic life, and shared future.

They'll discuss the compelling new Independent Lens | PBS documentary The Librarians, along with the beloved film Free for All: The Public Library, and share insights from PBS Books’ Filmmaker Talks with the creators behind both works.

PBS Books' National Library Week: Celebrating Libraries & Librarians streams on April 22 at 8PM ET.

Ready... Set... Take Action for Libraries! To celebrate , we're making our voices heard in Congress. Join us by telling your House Rep to OPPOSE censorship legislation like HR 7661 and PROTECT the right to read. Take action: https://app.oneclickpolitics.com/campaign-page?cid=XiKsP2Otpo1IXH1InCza5&utm_source=ALA&utm_medium=social

Shout out to the American Library Association for hosting the first annual

Love your libraries and librarians, they are here for us every day!

Although there had been previous local events celebrating libraries, such as the 1937 “Library Week” in Youngstown, Ohio, the 1949 “Know Your Library Week” in Jackson, Mississippi, and the 1952 statewide “California Library Week,” national attention to libraries had grown substantially.

The first National Library Week, sponsored in 1958 by the National Book Committee and in cooperation with ALA, engaged more than 5,000 communities throughout the country. Hundreds of local and state communities and librarian committees engaged in public relations, promotion, and advertising campaigns to encourage reading and the use and support of libraries.

Upon the continued success of the following National Library Week in 1959, ALA Council voted to continue the annual celebration. When the National Book Committee disbanded in 1974, ALA assumed full sponsorship.

Read more about the history of National Library Week: https://bit.ly/41SdSll

Have you checked out April’s BookPage yet? It’s blooming big with so many spring reads (or start adding to your summer reading list now). You will find book reviews, recommendations, interviews and more every month.

This month, you can read about the latest romances, whodunits, book club faves, audiobooks and more recommended by BookPage staff.

Don’t miss the profile of a novel that explores a TradWife Influencer’s journey in Yesteryear by author Caro Claire Burke, or the profile of biologist and author David George Haskell’s gorgeous new book How Flowers Made our World.

And of course, that slightly racy cover reveals Maria Semple’s Out of Body, her fourth novel of S*x, The City, and Stoic Philosophy. Intrigued? Read the interview on page 16!

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https://foltampa.org/

Back in February, the Teachers Federal Credit Union generously donated $1000 to benefit the West Tampa Branch Library

Mary James with the Ada T. Payne is pictured in the middle. Alexander Reyes is on the left and Gayle Dilodilo is on the right. John Smith, Finance Chair of the Friends of the Library Tampa chapter is in the background.

Thank you TFCU!
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Happy Library Workers Day!

It's National Library Workers Day - our favorite day of National Library Week!

Today we celebrate the hardworking, dedicated library professionals who power possibility in our neighborhoods, our schools, and our places of higher learning. As library workers across the U.S. continue to face challenges to their jobs and harassment from bad actors, it's essential we show up for them and voice our support for the work they do every day.

Thank you, library workers - libraries work because YOU do!

The March issue of BookPage is growing a marvelous garden for our imagination. 🦋🌷🌱
Don’t miss the discussion with sibling duo Margaret and Billy Renki, creators of cherished adult nonfiction about the natural world on publishing their first picture book, The Weedy Garden.
https://foltampa.org/

Even the cats have character arcs in the new stand-alone from the author of the Emily Wilde series. Cozy up to read the interview with Heather Fawcett and find your next book recommendation at BookPage.
https://foltampa.org/

Catch BookPage’s 2026 book recommendations!
You can read the entire edition on our site at
https://foltampa.org/
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December 2025’s biggest books | Libby Life: Blog, Podcast, Book Clubs & More. Discover all of December's best new book releases and read or listen to these highly anticipated new titles for free on the Libby app from your library.

Farewell, 2025, and thank you for all the books. Out of 1,069 books recommended last year by our reading buddies over at BookPage, these ten rose to the top.
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Did you read any of 2025’s Top Ten Reads, According to BooKPage?
https://www.bookpage.com/best-books/