Change can be a scary, daunting word. Changing jobs, changing homes, even changing hairstyles are unnerving, possibly unwelcome, tasks for some.

Often, change that impacts the masses can be both unwelcoming and welcome – unwelcome for those who are charged with the tasks to bring this change about and welcome for those whose only task is to enjoy the benefits.

As much as change can be stressful, and we fight it to the very end, it is many times necessary.

Such is the case with our local public libraries.

They are no longer simply storage centers for books we love.

When card-carrying members said they liked watching movies at home, libraries stocked beta tapes for renting. Electronic change brought about VHS tapes and then DVDs. Each had a place on the library shelves.

When we became enticed by the idea of e-readers and e-books, our libraries started offering selections through their own databases.

When computers grew to be an integral part of instruction in our schools, our public libraries installed more of these machines, as well as offered Internet access, so children without these things at home could do their homework.

When the unemployment rate started making a climb, our libraries hosted resume-writing seminars and invited job-seekers to apply for positions online via those same computers.

When we heard continuously that we carry too much stress, our libraries introduced adult coloring sessions – designed to instill a sense of calm in our busy lives, even if just for an hour.

The list of changes made by libraries for our benefit is growing and, well, changing. So it is fitting the theme for this year’s National Library Week, April 10-16, is “Libraries Transform.”

According to the American Library Association website, “In the mid-1950s, research showed that Americans were spending less on books and more on radios, televisions and musical instruments. Concerned that Americans were reading less, the ALA and the American Book Publishers formed a nonprofit citizens organization called the National Book Committee in 1954.

“The committee’s goals were ambitious. They ranged from ‘encouraging people to read in their increasing leisure time’ to ‘improving incomes and health’ and ‘developing strong and happy family life.’

“[National Library Week] is a time to celebrate the contributions of our nation’s libraries and librarians and to promote library use and support.”

April appears to be the month for library recognition on a few levels.

It is School Library Month, recognizing the awesome role school libraries play in students’ education. It is also a D.E.A.R. celebration. “Drop Everything And Read” is designed to remind people of all ages to make reading a priority.

National Library Workers Day is April 12, its purpose “to recognize all library workers, especially librarians, support staff and others, who make library service possible every day.”

Remember, these are the people who bring about this necessary change, or transformation, on our behalf. They see our needs and accept the challenge of addressing them. We owe them a debt of gratitude for constantly preserving and maintaining our local libraries.

On Tuesday, stop by your library and thank the staff. Just remember to do it quietly – it may be constantly transforming, but it is still a library.

Kelly Lutterschmidt

editor

Catasauqua Press

Northampton Press

Whitehall-Coplay Press