National Library Shelfie Day is a holiday that’s observed on the fourth Wednesday in January. It’s a holiday on which people, schools, libraries, and book stores are encouraged to take a photo of their bookshelves to convey to the world their particular reading preferences. It’s a day in which you’ll line up your books on a shelf, take a picture of it, and then post it on the Internet for all of the world to see. This is a great way to spread the word about authors and works that you love or to find out what other people are recommending others to read.

The History Of National Library Shelfie Day

This holiday was founded back in 2014 by the New York Public Library. It was a way for the library to encourage people to share the books they love with other people. Since then, it’s a holiday that’s been celebrated all over the U.S and is now sometimes known as National Library Shelfie Day.

Facts About Libraries

Since we’re talking about a holiday that encourages people to take pictures of their library bookshelves (both at home or at their public library), we’d like to take a few moments to give everyone some awesome library facts.

• Benjamin Franklin started his own lending library in 1731. It required a subscription of 40 shillings.
• Andrew Carnegie donated $55 million dollars between 1886 and 191 to open over 2,500+ libraries all over the world.
• The world’s largest library is the Library Of Congress. It has over 170 million items in its collection.
• The Library of Congress pays to reproduce popular magazines in Braille.
• In 2020, there were over 184,000 librarians working in the U.S.
• There are over 126,000+ libraries in the United States.
• New York has over 12,000+ libraries as of 2021.
• The Library of Ashurbanipal in Assyria (modern-day Iraq) is believed to be the oldest established library. It was built during the 7th century B.C.
• The Osmotheque in Versailles, France is a library of smells. They have over 3,200 scents stored.
• Every year, over 1.3 billion people visit public libraries.
• Observing Library Shelfie Day

National Library Shelfie Day can be celebrated by taking the perfect picture of your bookshelf. Arrange your books however you want to arrange them and then take a picture of them. Once you’ve done that, post a picture of them on your social media accounts using the hashtag #NationalLibraryShelfieDay. Let everyone know what you’re reading and spread the word about the books and the authors that you enjoy.