As we roll into the Thanksgiving holiday week in the U.S., most library students are also rolling into the last assignments for the fall semester. Since this time of year can bring a lot of related stress, be it in-laws or final projects, some good news is in order. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, here’s five library-related reasons to be grateful this holiday week.

5 Library Things to be Grateful for this Thanksgiving

1.IMLS and LSTA funding is safe for now. Earlier this year, threats to cut off federal funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) placed the future of countless number of innovative library projects in jeopardy. In September, the House of Representatives vote to continue IMLS funding in full for FY 2018. While the Senate still needs to pass a final budget, passing the House was a huge step in ensuring the future of library funding.

2. Librarian activists are making a major impact. In addition to advocating for civil liberties and privacy protections, librarians continue to play an active role in preserving and protecting data. Consider Cornell University Library’s efforts to preserve worker center websites. Or take a look at data protection precautions taken by the Internet Archive in saving deleted presidential tweets and securing a backup server in Canada.

3. The job market for librarians is looking positive. Library Journal‘s recently released annual Placements and Salaries survey shows full-time librarian salaries are up, as are the number of librarian placements for MLIS students. But there’s more good news. According to “The Future of Skills: Employment in 2030” report, librarians and archivists are among the top ten occupational groups predicted to be in demand in 2030.

4. People – especially younger generations – are still using libraries. Libraries are far from being obsolete. In fact, Pew Research Center data shows that Millennials are most likely to have visited a public library in the past year than any other age group. Across other age groups, library use has remained consistent over the past several years. Plus, library ebook collections are getting greater exposure now that local library ebook holdings appear in US Google search results.

5. Librarians continue to be wildly creative and funny. Library staff at the Invercargill City Libraries and Archives killed it with their Kardashian-inspired spoof. Laugh at two of my favorite library parody videos full of clever references and easter eggs: CheckItOut and Unread Book. Get inspired by the terrific library displays showcased in the greatlibrarydisplays Instagram account. The librarian submissions to Awful Library Books are always worth a chuckle.

Happy Thanksgiving all!