Happy National Library Week! The first full week in April is the week each year the American Library Association uses to acknowledge and appreciate libraries and library workers. It’s probably not something you regularly mark on your calendars, but it’s a big deal in the library world.
My favorite day in National Library Week each year is Tuesday: National Library Workers’ Day. It’s my favorite because now I get to tell you how wonderful your library staff is!
I can honestly say that each person who works with me at the library (including our two bonus staff members who are part of the City’s custodial staff) is a genuinely wonderful human being that I am proud to work with. Each staff member believes in doing a job well, so we strive to give our community the best service possible. Between us, I am confident we can connect our patrons to whatever resource or delightful recommendation they need.
This last year has been one of the most challenging years anyone can remember. Our service model changed from being the “community’s living room” where anyone can come and hang out as long as they’d like to being the “community’s literary and information cupboard” where patrons get what they need and go elsewhere to use it.
That transition could have been excruciating. Luckily, this staff understands our situation and is flexible enough to flow with the changes we need to make. And they did it with good humor and grace.
In the coming months, we will be working in a literal construction site. This brings its own challenges, but I am thankful to get to go through the stress and excitement of an expansion project with the staff we have. They make coming to work every day a delight!
If you come in this week, please be sure to let your library staff know how wonderful they are.