By Jill Fuller
Hearts. Flowers. Chocolate. It’s the season of love, but I’m not talking about Valentine’s Day.
February is Library Lovers Month — the perfect time to celebrate everything libraries do to strengthen their communities. But libraries would be nothing without the people who work there.
So what is it really like to work in one? I asked some of the staff at libraries in Jefferson County to share what they love about working at a library.
“Our patrons are the best,” said Sarah, a library assistant at the Jefferson Public Library. “We have regulars hanging out and new people wandering in. I also love being able to recommend the right book/author and help someone find the right resource.”
Kristyn, a customer service specialist at the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library in Whitewater, said she loves “seeing the new books and movies come in, meeting different people every day, and all the resources we have to offer. One perk I love about working here is finding books on the shelf that interest me while I’m shelving, when I probably would have never known about them if I didn’t work here.”
“The Dwight Foster Public Library is my second home and the staff my second family,” Sandy, the circulation librarian at the library in Fort Atkinson, shared with me. “I am so connected to this library and the community I have the privilege to serve every day.”
From visiting the library as a stay-at-home mother to now working there full time, Sandy added, “Over 25 years, I’ve seen the power of words. Not just the words written on the page, but the spoken words we share with each other.”
When I asked what made their libraries special, Diane, the assistant director of the Irvin L. Young Memorial Library, said, “We have a little free library outside, we have a coat exchange provided to us by the Community Clothes Closet (a local nonprofit organization), and we have a little free pantry.”
Because the library is open more often than the local food pantries, Diane added, “the community is able to access food at a time that is convenient for them. We stock the pantry every day, and sometimes more than once a day.”
Reflecting on the weeks when the Fort Atkinson library building was closed during the spring of 2020, Sandy said, “2020 was a very lonely time at the library when our staff could only meet our patrons at the curb and exchange a wave through the window or speak over the phone. I don’t think any of us will ever take for granted the gift of human connection within the library again. It’s wonderful to have our doors open and meet our community’s needs in person.”
When we think of a library, we may think of a building full of books and other materials. But the library isn’t a building at all. It’s you. It’s me. And it’s the people behind the desk, helping us use the computers, pointing us to the perfect book, or making crafts with kids and teens after school.
So next time you stop by your library, say thanks. Give them a smile. I’m sure they’d appreciate it.
Jill Fuller is marketing and communications librarian at the Bridges Library System, of which all Jefferson and Waukesha county public libraries are members.
Jill Fuller
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