Celebrate National Library Week with UCBA Library

Posted on April 20, 2026 by Michelle Leonard

Happy National Library Week, UCBA! The theme for this year’s celebration of libraries is “Find Your Joy!”.

This week, we invite our campus community to take a moment to think about where they find library joy, whether that comes through discovery, learning, creativity, or connection. National Library Week is a time to recognize the important role academic libraries play in teaching, research, and lifelong learning. From scholarly collections and digital resources to technology and expert support, the library remains at the heart of our campus.

To celebrate, we are hosting a variety of fun events and activities throughout the week. Be sure to check out the message monitors inside and outside the library, where we have curated some of our most joyful library moments from over the years.

Monday – Thursday Events

Find Joy in Unexpected Places: Students are invited to explore the library and keep an eye out for a hidden gifts of joy. Each day, one small squishable surprise with a National Library Week message of encouragement will be tucked away somewhere in the library. Finders keepers!
Guess the Bookworms: How many gummy bookworms are cozied up in the jar? Students can stop by the library and submit their best guess through Thursday this week. We’ll review guesses on Friday and the student with the closest guess wins the entire jar of bookworms!
Book Blooms Display: Fresh reads for a new season! Browse our spring book display, check out a book, and grab a treat to enjoy along the way.

Wednesday | 12 pm – 2 pm

Spring Fling: Visit our table at the Student Life and Success Spring Fling for freebies, treats, and a chance to say hello.

Thursday | 2 pm – 3 pm

Coffee, Cookies & Community: Books in the Nook Finale: Faculty, staff, and students are invited to stop by to enjoy coffee and cookies, and take a moment to recharge in the library’s wellness space or anywhere in the library. This gathering also marks the final Books in The Nook event of the semester and is a perfect opportunity to reflect and connect as the semester wraps up.
Thursday is also Take Action for Libraries Day, a time to rally support and show appreciation for libraries and the work they do.

Students and staffed reading and relaxing in the Nook — Faculty, staff and students enjoying the Books in the Nook silent reading party.

We hope to see you around the library this week. We also encourage you to show some love to your local public libraries. We are truly fortunate to have such an outstanding library system in the greater Cincinnati area.

Thanks, and see you in the library!

UCBA Library Joy Abounds

Photo collage of UCBA Library faculty, staff, students and visitors expressing joy in the UCBA Library.

Three library staff members holding their spin art.

National Library Week at UC Clermont

Posted on April 19, 2026 by Catie Carlson

National Library Week is an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries and library professionals play in transforming lives and strengthening our communities. In 2026, it will be held April 19-25.

At UC Clermont, you can celebrate with us in a number of ways:

Share your favorite book with us on Monday
Highlight something amazing a librarian’s recently done for you on Tuesday
Tell us things you wish the library gave out on Wednesday
Write MAD LIBrary love letters on Thursday

You’ll find ways to interact with these actions in the library and across campus during the week. Can’t make it on campus? You can still participate: 2026 National Library Week – Fill out form.

Celebrating Our Library Cats, Dogs and Fish

Posted on April 23, 2020 by Michelle Leonard

There are many libraries that serve as home to library cats. Now that we’re working remotely from home, our furry friends and four-legged family members have been given a promotion to co-worker and library cat/dog. In honor of National Library Week, we’d like to introduce our newest colleagues. They have made our work-from-home environment much more fun (and maybe a little more frustrating at times?).

: Seamus (right) and Fiona (left). These are our loving, energetic border collies. They are absolutely thrilled we’re home with them so much now but would still like more play time. – Heather Maloney

: Grey Cat is excited about her new role as co-worker, ready to jump into any task. She, however, will only tolerate about an hour of meetings before she begins howling for more attention. We’re working with HR on these issues. – Kellie Tilton

: Jake, Pete and Ozzy. They have been very entertaining co-workers! It’s not everyday at work that you have someone sit on your computer, try to eat your ear buds, and then take a nap in your lap! 😄 Fun fact: All three were adopted together from The Ohio Alleycat Rescue on the same day thus tripling our cat population overnight. – Elizabeth Hartlaub

: Yuri and Gabby. Gabby is 21 years old, scrawny as a twig, but very loving and tough as nails. Yuri is our 7 year old one eyed dynamo who has the biggest personality of any pet I’ve ever had. They’re OK as co-workers, a bit demanding for attention and food. They do encourage me to order new books about tuna, laser pointers, and the benefits of sleeping 21 hours a day. – Christian Boyles

National Library Week: Our favorite S.W.A.G.

Posted on April 22, 2020 by Michelle Leonard

The UCBA Library continues to celebrate National Library Week. The library staff pulled out, and in some cases, dusted off, some of our favorite library S.W.A.G. (souvenirs, wearables and gifts). These items have been collected from various library conferences, purchases from our favorite bookish vendors and gifted to us by our friends and loved ones.

: I love tote bags. The tote on the left is from Lane Library and is used to haul books to/from home. The tote on the right was picked up at the American Library Association’s Annual Conference. I will not admit to the number of totes I’ve uncovered since being home. I will say, that when the world opens up again, I plan on including tote bags in my Little Free Library donations. – Michelle McKinney

: I may only have this one librarian tshirt, a gift from my mom, but it sure is awesome. -Lauren Wahman

: I love enamel pins but I don’t like to wear them on my clothes. I picked up the Slay pin from the American Library Association’s Annual Conference and the other two were gifts from fellow book friends. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to display them and will be creating a framed cork board for the pins I keep at home. – Michelle McKinney

Recreational Reading Recommendations

Posted on April 20, 2020 by Michelle Leonard

The UC Blue Ash Library is celebrating National Library Week. To kick off the week, we’d like to share a few of our favorite books. Every recommended title is available in either ebook or audiobook format from the Public Library of Cincincinnati and Hamilton County (PLCHC). Although physical library locations are closed, ebooks and audiobooks can be accessed and downloaded for free in the comfort of your own home with your PLCHC library card.

Pam Adler and cover of Breaking and Entering

Pamela Adler’s Recommendation

Name: Pamela Adler, Public Services Assistant
Book Recommendation: Breaking and Entering: The extraordinary story of a hacker called “Alien”
Author: Jeremy N. Smith
Book Description: This taut, true thriller takes a deep dive into a dark world that touches us all, as seen through the brilliant, breakneck career of an extraordinary hacker – a woman known only as Alien.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: A page turning real life thriller, the sort of book that may leave you feeling both invigorated and vulnerable.

Elizabeth Hartlaub and cover of The Tale of Despereaux

Elizabeth Hartlaub’s Recommedation

Name: Elizabeth Hartlaub, Library Operations Manager.
Book Recommendation: The Tale of Despereaux
Author: Kate DiCamillo.
Book Description: Despereaux, a most unassuming and tiny mouse, shows that even the smallest among us can be great heroes against all odds.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: Author Kate DiCamillo weaves a charming story using a “classic” fairy-tale approach that will delight children of all ages.

Heather Maloney’s Recommendation

Name: Heather Maloney, Library Director
Book Recommendation: The Power
Author: Naomi Alderman
Book Description: Now in possession of a new kind of power, this novel explores how the world begins to change when girls and women experience and wield this power in different ways.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: I’m not usually into science fiction but this story really pulled me in and is a relatively quick read. It made me consider our world now and how it might be if evolution took a strange and powerful turn for one gender. The page turning plot will keep you on your toes and linger with you long after you read it.

Michelle McKinney and cover of She Came To Slay

Michelle McKinney’s Recommendation

Name: Michelle McKinney, Reference and Web Services Librarian
Book Recommendation: She Came to Slay
Author: Erica Armstrong Dunbar
Book Description: This biography of Harriet Tubman is “An illustrated tribute to one of the most exceptional women in American History.”
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: I listened to the audiobook version and found it perfectly paced and engaging. This is a very easy-to-read and enlightening book on the life of Harriet Tubman.

Name: Kellie Tilton, Instruction Technologies Librarian
Book Recommendation: Midnight Riot /Rivers of London (Rivers of London/Peter Grant series, Book 1)
Author: Ben Aaronovitch
Book Description: Police procedural meets Hogwarts in modern-day London.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: Fun, twisty and just a touch creepy, this book (and the rest of the series) provides a new spin on magic in every day London, with a lowly policeman that gets stuck in the middle.

Name: Christian Boyles, Collection Services Manager
Book Recommendation: Normandy ’44: D-Day and the Epic 77 Day Battle for France
Author: James Holland
Book Description: A stirring narrative by a pre-eminent historian, Normandy ’44 offers important new perspective on one of history’s most dramatic military engagements and is an invaluable addition to the literature of war.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: I enjoy historical accounts that tell the story from multiple viewpoints. It was a fascinating read detailing how the Allies and Axis prepared for the invasion and how the fighting was for those on the frontline and behind the lines. In spite of the amount of information, it is a quick and lively read.

by Pam Adler

Celebrate National Library Week With Us!

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Michelle Leonard

by Michelle McKinney

National Library Week, April 8 – 12th, is underway and we’d love for you to join us! Take part in any or all of the fun activities scheduled this week!

Strong Communities Giving Campaign

You chip in, and we’ll chip in! Donate personal care items for the 100,000 individuals in need served by St. Vincent de Paul. If you fill the blue bin in the library with donations, we’ll fill it with bags of delicious chips the following week as a thank you!

Accepted donations: Shampoo, Conditioner, Deodorant, Bar soap, Toothbrushes and Toothpaste.

Each personal care item donated can get you $1 off your library fines up to $15! Stop in for details.

Other fun activities

Snag your own UCBA student-designed button giveaway by stopping by the information desk. Guess How Many Bookworms contest. Winner gets a ½ gallon jar of gummy worms! Free candy Friday!

Celebrate National Library Week With Us!

Love Your Library Button Design Winner

Posted on April 9, 2019 by Michelle Leonard

by Michelle McKinney

student button contest winner, Sarah Burton, poses with her prize and winning button design

2019 Button Contest Winner, Sarah Burton

Congratulations to Sarah Burton, the student designer of the winning 2019 National Library Week Button Contest. Her black and white, “Love Your Library” design was chosen by library staff in a blind review. She won bragging rights and UC Blue Ash College mug filled with goodies.

Stop by the library information during National Library Week to snag a button for yourself!

Design Our 2019 National Library Week Button

Posted on March 12, 2019 by Michelle Leonard

Create the winning design for our National Library Week buttons and win UCBA swag, sweets and bragging rights! Design submissions will be accepted from March 18 – April 4, 2019. The winning design will be determined using a blind submission and voting process among the UCBA Library Team.

Visit libraries.uc.edu/ucba/button.html for more details and to download the button template.

Another Successful National Library Week in the books for UCBA Library

Posted on April 16, 2018 by Michelle Leonard

The UCBA Library enjoys celebrating National Library Week with our students, staff and faculty and this year was no different! Visitors had the chance to participate in a number of activities such as “Guess How Many Bookworms” are in a jar, Book Drive for local non-profit Adopt a Book, submitting Book Recommendations and Wake Up And Read Pajama Day.

Madaline Bowman wins the Exam Week Survival Basket

Rebecca Dabb won the jar of gummy Bookworms by guessing 226 bookworks (there were 225)

: Amber Lanese’s winning button design

: UCBA Library Faculty and Staff

: Library faculty and staff wear PJs in honor of NLW’s theme, Wake Up and Read!

: Student Assistants, Tiffany and Isabella don their PJs at the desk

: Lauren Wahman and Christian Boyles and the Tournament of Titles and decked out in PJs for National Library Week’s Sleep In and Read theme. April 2018.

: Book Suggestions from the UCBA community

: Button Contest Finalists

Wake Up and Read at the UCBA Library

Posted on April 4, 2018 by Michelle Leonard

Celebrate National Library Week with fun activities and chances to win an Exam Week Survival basket of goodies! Collect a raffle ticket for participating in activities and earn additional chances to win each time you participate!

Monday, April 9 – Friday, April 13

Monday – Friday

Donate a children’s book! All donations go to local, non-profit Adopt a Book, (which was started in 2011 by local 8 year old siblings).
- Accepted donations: new or used (in good condition) books for ages birth through high school.
- Donations not accepted: magazines, encyclopedias, and textbooks.
Recommend your favorite book(s) to fellow students!

Friday

“Wake Up and Read” but leave those jammies on! Wear your pajamas and earn another raffle ticket!

Come to the Library Information Desk to participate in the above activities and collect your raffle tickets!

The more you celebrate National Library Week with us, the more chances you’ll have to win the amazing Exam Week Survival basket on display at the Library Information Desk!

Other Activities:

UCBA student-designed button giveaway
“Guess How Many Bookworms” contest. The winner gets an entire jar of gummy worms!
Free color therapy bookmarks
Donuts and coffee on Friday morning beginning at 8:30 a.m.
Cast a vote in UCBA Library’s 1st Annual Tournament of Titles