Local libraries connect with communities this National Library Week
Courtesy of Amanda Gabeletto
The Monongahela Area Library will display book spine poetry as part of its National Library Week celebrations. Locals are encouraged to dust off their own books and use the titles printed on book spines to craft short poems, and share those poems on the library’s Facebook page.
Courtesy of Amanda Gabeletto
In mid-March, Amanda Gabeletto stepped into the role of library director at Monongahela Area Library. She said she is looking forward to hosting her first National Library Week; celebrations include a coloring contest and a special library- and book-themed book display.
Courtesy of Diane Ambrose
Washington & Jefferson College work-study students Waynessa Adams and Abigail Caisullo smile in front of the backdrop set up at Citizens Library for National Library Week. Visitors to can take a selfie in front of the delightfully bookish backdrop all week long.
Courtesy of Diane Ambrose
National Library Week is celebrated nationwide from April 3 through 9.
Courtesy of Kathy Douglas
Puzzle competition participants gather inside the Eva K. Bowlby Public Library earlier this year. National Library Week will conclude with a puzzle competition on Saturday, April 9.
Courtesy of Kathy Douglas
A trip to the Eva K. Bowlby Public Library is not complete without a cup of coffee, hot cocoa or tea. The library welcomes visitors to stay a while during National Library Week and all year long.
Hushed voices, rustling pages, an occasional gasp or giggle and the click-click of a keyboard: the soundtrack to an afternoon in your local library.
That sweet music will pick up tempo Monday when local libraries kick off National Library Week celebrations.
“We’re very excited to be celebrating. We’re definitely embracing it this year,” said Amanda Gabeletto, director of Monongahela Area Library. “This year’s theme is connections. I think that’s what people are hungry for. People are hungry to get out and be in the world again.”
And libraries are looking forward to reconnecting with their communities.
National Library Week has been celebrated annually since 1958, when the American Library Association, worried the country was spending too much time listening to the radio or staring at the TV, launched an initiative to promote visiting the local library.
This year’s post-pandemic theme, “Connect With Your Library,” echoes the first-ever library week theme, “Wake Up and Read!”
Monongahela library is connecting through Facebook, where younger patrons are invited to print a coloring page. Masterpieces may be turned into the library for a chance to win a prize.
The Monongahela library is also promoting the I Love Libraries campaign this week. Share a photo of your local library to social media using the hashtag #mylibrary for a chance to win a $100 Visa gift card.
Along with virtual celebrations, Gabeletto invites patrons inside the grand, red-bricked building to check out the National Library Week book display, which showcases nonfiction and fiction books about, well, books.
“There’s kind of a niche genre that is books about either librarians or about book shop owners. Just that cozy genre that people are attracted to,” she said.
Also on display this week at Monongahela library: book spine poetry.
“You get different titles of books and you stack them in a certain way so that when you read them, it becomes a poem,” Gabeletto said. “I thought it sounded like fun. Maybe it will inspire people to try to do it themselves at home and post a picture.”
The perfect photo op will present itself Wednesday at Citizens Library, where patrons are encouraged to dress as their favorite book genre, title or character.
The library has a full week of celebratory events planned as part of library week celebrations.
“We’re reconnecting with our library users and helping people to connect to our services and to our collections,” said Diane Ambrose, director of Citizens Library. “It’s just a reconnection to everything that we provide.”
To kick off the week, Citizens is hosting a treasure hunt Monday. Those who find three gems win a prize. Tuesday is pajama day, and on Thursday, the library is designating a Maker Space, where visitors can craft buttons and graphics and play with 3D pens.
The week ends with “Summer Vibes” day Friday. Hawaiian shirts are not required for entrance.
Like Gaballeto, Ambrose is hoping National Library Week reconnects the community with its library.
“People were a bit slow to return to the library on a regular basis. People were fearful of going a lot of places,” she said. “Within the last six months, we are seeing a real upswing in the number of people coming into the library. We are seeing a lot of our books circulate. We have a lot of people that are completing resume writing on our computers, and we are seeing a lot of use on our e-books and audio books.”
As libraries slowly reopen after two years of closures, the Eva K. Bowlby Public Library in Waynesburg has seen an increase in foot traffic and participation in programming and events.
“It was challenging through the pandemic, that’s for sure,” said Kathy Douglas, public relations director at Bowlby Library. “People are coming back. There are mornings that we’re kind of quiet. We have foot traffic, which means instead of people lingering here, they just come in, get their books and go about their day. We just keep trying to add more and more to get people back to the library.”
Douglas and library director Kathy McClure hope a week full of National Library Week events brings locals inside to stay a while.
“We do try to plan some special things for that week,” said McClure. “The county commissioners are doing a proclamation for us on April 7. We also have a coloring contest. We have a speaker coming in.”
Fred Saluga, a cryptozoologist, ufologist and paranormal investigator, will talk all things UFOs Tuesday. The event, which begins at 5:30 p.m., is free to the public.
Bowlby is kickstarting its Coffee & Conversation for Seniors program during National Library Week. Older adults are welcome to drop into the library around 9:30 a.m. for coffee, hot chocolate or tea and camaraderie. Families are invited to movie night Friday, when “Sing 2” will start promptly at 7 p.m.
German-Masontown Public Library in Fayette County is also hoping to bring patrons back into its cozy community space with a small National Library Week celebration Tuesday.
Last week, the Fayette County commissioners presented the library with a National Library Week proclamation. Director Amy Ryan said that this year, the library is keeping its National Library Week celebration small. It will celebrate following children’s story time Tuesday.
“We’re a small library. Most of the things that we do is with children,” said Ryan.
Although it’s children-centered, the library did remain a valuable resource to the community through COVID-19.
“We were open. We were serving people, even if we had to go out to their cars, to make sure they had the materials that they needed,” Ryan said, adding the library kept its databases running 24/7. “People could still look things up. We’re first responders, too.”
Ryan said German-Masontown Public Library has served the community for more than 50 years, and she hopes folks will stop in to celebrate National Library Week – and continue visiting all year long.
“National Library Week is just a chance to spotlight libraries, remind people that we’re still serving the community,” she said. “If you haven’t been to the library in a while … we’re a great resource. We invite everyone to come to the library.”
For more on National Library Week, visit https://www.ala.org/conferencesevents/celebrationweeks/natlibraryweek.