National Library Week: Meet my library peeps!

Helloooooo!!!!!!!!!!! It’s National Library Week! WOOO!

Today I’m going to do something a bit different. Instead of writing about why libraries are the best, I’m going to show you a video of why libraries are the best! As you may know, I work at a public library. I also am working towards my Masters in Library and Information Science so I can be a *real* librarian one day. I pretty much adore my job, and a big reason for that is because I work with some pretty awesome peeps. Our library put together a video of why “Libraries Transform” (this year’s motto), and I’d love you all to see it. I am so incredibly proud of my workplace. Fun fact: the library where I work is the first ever library in my state (and the 3rd in the nation!) to graduate students with their high school diplomas. (The program is called Career Online High School, and our library offers scholarships to adults wanting to get their high school diplomas!)

Libraries are constantly doing incredible service for (and with) people who need it, from just offering shelter from the cold to offering reading programs for kids, free internet access, ESL programs and citizenship test prep, home delivery to those without transportation, and in many libraries, media labs where you can record video or music and edit projects with expensive hardware and software that you probably won’t have access to anywhere else. (Shout-out to the library for having iMovie so I can edit one of my final projects!) ((And yes, I’m still bragging on my library that offers all of these things.)) But even if your library doesn’t have a fancy media lab or extensive database offerings or other costly resources, libraries simply offer a safe community space for people looking to connect with their community. They can be the center for civic engagement in a community, a safe space for teens, and a hub for newcomers to learn about their new community. I just said “community” like 4 times. Also, I said earlier that I wouldn’t write about why libraries are the best, and I just spent several paragraphs writing about why libraries are the best. C’mon, Em.

Video time. Without further ado (truly, this time), here are some of the amazing coworkers and patrons who I have the pleasure to work with each day. Here is why Libraries Transform:

IT JUST MAKES ME SO WARM AND FUZZY, OK GUYS?

So, want to get involved in National Library Week? Check out the ALA’s page on all the ways you can help libraries and celebrate them this week. Also check out this lovely post on Pages Unbound for easy ways you can support your local library! I’ll be participating in several ways at work and also posting daily Instagrams (@enchntdrose) with the challenges below if you would like to join in, you Bookstagramers out there! I MIGHT even be doing daily posts this week on each topic below. (MIGHT.)

Happy National Library Week! How will you be celebrating? What’s your favorite thing about libraries? Got any stories to share?