The Great North Star Read Together

Each participating library will host a local event—indoors, on library grounds, or in nearby public spaces—creating a statewide show of appreciation,

The Great North Star Read Together

Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 11:00a - 1:00p

Join Us to Celebrate Minnesota Libraries!

Find your local event by visiting the Participating Libraries page.

Minnesota libraries are one of our most enduring institutions. Our earliest libraries were founded even before statehood by civic-minded individuals who saw the need for a place for education, information, and the opportunity for leisure reading. Our earliest libraries pioneered services we still see in our libraries today. Classes on English and integrating into society, spaces for workers to relax and read, storytimes for children, a place for the community to gather to experience the latest technology (lantern slides, anyone?), book clubs, hobby groups, and more were offered in storefronts or over the corner store in many Minnesota communities. When Andrew Carnegie offered money to build a library in a community, these civic groups mustered community support for the ongoing maintenance of the collection and staff. 65 Carnegie libraries were built in Minnesota communities big and small.

It is easy to take our libraries for granted in this current age when some people think that libraries are obsolete because they only think of libraries as book storehouses or only for kids to use. Modern libraries have continued to build and expand the services from the early days and now provide access to technology, offer programs and services to meet their community’s needs, promote early literacy and lifelong learning, all while continuing to connect people to the tools and information they need to expand their worlds. 

Public libraries are books and more! They drive opportunity for individuals and communities. In rural towns and urban neighborhoods alike. Minnesota libraries offer free access to what people need to succeed in the 21stcentury—Wi-Fi, computers, resume help, digital literacy training, homework support, language classes, social opportunities, job search resources, and much more. For many, and not only those on the economic or social margins, libraries are the only place where these services are available, accessible, and judgment-free. Everyone is welcome. 

Libraries don’t just support individuals; they strengthen the social and economic fabric of entire communities. Without libraries, communities face a dearth of places to learn, gather, relax, and expand their lives in positive ways.

Minnesota has a robust system of public libraries—everyone in Minnesota has access to a public library with no additional cost to the individual. You can register your valid Minnesota library card in any other Minnesota public library and borrow its materials, use its services, and enjoy the buildings. You can return those materials off at any other public library. This is just one of the many ways our libraries work together so Minnesotans have access to the information and resources they need to help them thrive.

The state of Minnesota supports the cooperation and collaboration among libraries by funding regional public library systems and the multicounty multitype library system. 

You can show your support for libraries by joining other library supports on September 20 from 11am to 1pm at one of the Participating Libraries. Everyone is encouraged to bring their latest read—book, ebook, audiobook, magazine—to share the joy of Minnesota libraries and reading.