It’s National Library Week! This year’s theme is “Find Your Joy”, a celebration of all the imagination, creativity, and joy that libraries bring to our lives each and every day. Visiting our library offers you the opportunity to explore new worlds, ideas, and ways of belonging, from borrowing books to joining clubs or participating in social activities.
The joy that sparks you at the library is up to you to discover — but our Reference Assistants have the unique perspective of witnessing moments of joy and excitement on a daily basis. Sometimes it’s as simple as the moment a child discovers something new, or when a recommendation really resonates with a patron. Other times, it’s moments where community members feel a sense of belonging, understanding, comfort, and connection.
“Over the summer, during Art in the Park, I was working the kids’ craft table and a little girl and her mom walked by. We invited them over, but they seemed timid and didn’t give much of a response,” shared Joey Courtney, a Reference Assistant at PDL. “Then I heard them speaking Spanish, so I began speaking Spanish too, and their faces lit up, and they came over as I explained the craft. It was really sweet and a great reminder that in learning new languages, I get the opportunity to connect with people.”
Melissa Henderson, also a Reference Assistant at our library, shared a moment where a mother explained how to complete a word search to her daughter. Watching her discover how to find words on her own and smiling as she did so made Melissa’s day. Another time, she assisted a patron with updating her resume, “I had to show her how to use some of the software and formatting, as well as how to implement information from the job description for the jobs she was applying for.” A while later, the patron came back and found Melissa, “She was pleased to tell me that she got the job! That was a joyful moment for sure.”
RA Veronica Schendel said that her joys comes from the recommendations she gives and receives, “It sparks joy when I can recommend materials to a patron that they might not have known about, and then I hear back from them about how much they enjoyed them,” she added, “In the same vein, I love to hear about great books from our patrons that I don’t know about. It’s a two-way relationship.”
Library joy is all around us — and all of your moments of joy are memorable to us. Spark your joy by signing up today for a library card to begin experiencing all the possibilities and resources that your local library has to offer.