Service, Innovation, and Impact

Celebrating the Essential Power of Libraries

At this time of year, the first full week of April, librarians and library lovers across the country join together to participate in an exciting holiday – National Library Week. National Library Week is an annual celebration sponsored by the American Library Association each April in recognition of the compelling value and contribution of our nation’s libraries. Uplifting messages, social media posts, competitions, and even speeches all come together to convey the importance of libraries in our communities and acknowledge the hard work and dedication of library workers. In the midst of all the festivities, however, we can take time to reflect.

Why is it important to celebrate National Library Week?

Without a doubt, there are thousands of excellent answers to that question. Libraries are dynamic, vibrant places filled with talented, creative staff who deploy a variety of skills and tactics to successfully serve their communities. Specific illustrations of this are everywhere! For the moment, I’d like to offer a few examples that highlight three important characteristics of libraries and the people working inside them – selfless dedication to service, innovation, and economic impact.

First, libraries are a public service, and librarians are service providers committed to providing high quality support to all who need it. There may be no better demonstration than the heroic efforts of the past year, as libraries and library staff across the country quickly pivoted to transform their services and meet the needs of their communities. In Arkansas, many public, school, and academic libraries extended their WiFi networks to include library parking lots so that patrons and students could access the Internet and complete coursework from the safety of their vehicles, and the Arkansas State Library compiled this information to create an interactive map so folks could plan their visits. Library staff at South Arkansas Community College coordinated a laptop lending program so that students without a computer could successfully complete their work. Finally, with library workers on the front lines of interacting with the public during the pandemic, a small group of volunteers collaborated to sew almost three thousand face masks to keep Arkansas library personnel safe. These are just a few examples demonstrating the selfless dedication library personnel bring to the table each and every day.

In addition, libraries are centers for innovation. A couple of years ago, as the Faulkner County Urban Farm Project was becoming increasingly intertwined with the programs and offerings of the Faulkner County Public Library next door, the library hired its first Garden Programmer, and officially took over responsibility for the urban farm project, donating produce to help address food insecurity and helping individuals learn how to grow food sustainably. In Hot Springs, the Lake Hamilton School District retrofitted an old school bus to create the Wolf Pack Reading Den, a bookmobile complete with more than two thousand books for all ages. The Reading Den regularly travels around the district, serving communities geographically dispersed across a rural area and helping everyone – not just students – become excited about literacy. Finally, the recently renovated Fayetteville Public Library includes a sixteen-station teaching kitchen that will be utilized by Fayetteville High School, the nearby Northwest Arkansas Community College, and members of the community. Wherever you look, it quickly becomes clear that libraries today are not just about books. Libraries are places to quench curiosity, pursue new boundaries, and explore ideas, hobbies, and careers.

Ultimately, libraries also serve as engines of positive economic impact. It is no secret that libraries provide a variety of services for free, available for those who might not be able to afford them on their own. This includes books, movies, and magazines, sure – but also conspicuously includes computers and Internet access at a time when some 40% of Americans do not have Internet access in their homes. Libraries serve as meeting spaces, community centers, and classrooms, engaging a broad demographic spectrum and providing resources that might not be available anywhere else. For patrons of the Central Arkansas Library System, that might include a meal. Over the past several years, the library system provided over two hundred and forty thousand meals to children in need, just part of the library’s overall impact, adding up to a staggering one billion dollars in economic impact for the Central Arkansas region.

By doing ALL of these things – and by doing them with very specific and local needs in mind – librarians are able to broaden the horizon for hundreds and thousands of individuals. When a person walks through the doors to the library for the first time, or finds their local library’s Facebook page and learns about an upcoming event or interesting resource, they inadvertently come into contact with an entire staff of dedicated professionals who have made it their mission to help – whether that means finding a book to read or interviewing for a more promising career. By helping their students and patrons navigate the confusing world of information, engage with a new resource, or take advantage of a library event, librarians are serving as tour guides, leading the individuals they help to an ever broader horizon of possibility and personal enrichment.

I think that’s worth celebrating, don’t you?

Happy National Library Week!