Americans value
their libraries, and they show that appreciation by using their libraries in
large numbers and by supporting library funding. The library is seen, quite
correctly, as both a benign and benevolent pillar of the community and is one
of the very few places you can go and be provided with educational,
recreational, and/or useful materials for free. You can
walk out the door of a public library with hundreds of dollars worth of your
tax money all because you have a library card!
In
these challenging economic times, libraries are being used more than ever, and
with less financial backing. Therefore, the same amount of library staff,
almost all with fewer resources, are providing more services such as story
hours, reference and outreach.
Today, Tuesday April
15, 2014, during National Library Week, schools, campuses and communities
across the country will celebrate the second National Library Workers Day and
the valuable contributions of our librarians and library support staff.
Libraries are part of the American dream – places for opportunity, education,
lifelong learning and free and equal access to a world of resources no matter
your age, income or background -- but that dream would not exist if it were not
for the people who work in libraries.
Library workers
organize and maintain everything that is in the library. Materials need to be
selected, ordered, processed, and then made available for users. From a book
for research or leisure reading to a laptop that can be checked out to a
display for Black History Month, dedicated human is responsible for its
presence in the library. Library workers—catalogers, circulation clerks,
reference librarians, evening supervisors, and student assistants, to name a
few, provide access to the past while preserving the present.
They plan for the
libraries of the future and Banned Book Week displays. They choose, order,
catalog, label, and shelve all of the books, media, serials, and other
materials. They lobby for funding and crusade against censorship. Library workers
read stories to children and books to the blind. They suggest good reads,
organize book clubs, and drive bookmobiles. They advise vampire slayers, fight
crime, and throw fabulous parties (Think Buffy's Mr. Giles, Bat Girl, and Party
Girl). In the local college or
university they provide the educational support for students, faculty, and
staff.
Those in public
service, whether it's in a public, school, or university library, are skilled
and knowledgeable researchers who know how just which tool to use for which
information need, navigating through a variety of electronic and print
resources: almanacs, bibliographies, catalogs, databases, dictionaries,
gazetteers, encyclopedias, reviews, and yearbooks. And they know! More and more
those who work in libraries need to know how to use technology. Sometimes
locating just the right answer appears so simple that the users do not realize
that it is isn't easy. Often times library workers are drawing on education and
experience that make it look that way.
Library workers do
all this and more, even though they are rarely thanked. Yet, working in the
library is rewarding for most people because it involves giving a service that
contributes to the overall quality of life in a community. It is positive work
that should be recognized in a society that values knowledge, learning and
opportunity.
Take a moment today
to thank our library workers for the services they provide and to remind our
campus officials that libraries and library workers provide vital services, programs
and collections each and every day. The Charles W. & Joan S. Coker Library works
because Brandy, Jared, Margaret, Nancy, Veronica, Todd, and Emily do!
