By: Maria Lagasca, Public Services Director
April brings spring showers, flowers, and National Library Week, a time for us to celebrate our dedicated library staff, the foundations that support us, and the community that makes our library thrive. According to the American Library Association, this year’s theme, “Find Your Joy,” “is an invitation for people of all backgrounds to explore and discover what sparks joy in them at the library.”
In a time when the past few years have felt especially stressful for many, creating, alongside offering resources and essential services, feels more important than ever for our shared well-being. Dauphin County Library System (DCLS) is committed to bringing our community joy by ensuring we keep our spaces welcoming, our services meet the needs of the community, and our resources accessible to all.
When you visit one of our eight branches, joy is inevitable. Whether it comes from seeing your favorite librarian, spotting the next Diana Gabaldon book on the shelf with no holds, or breathing in the scent of timeworn pages (to each their own), there is always joy to be found at DCLS. Joy is also present in the lives of the many neighbors we help connect with jobs, housing, and basic essentials, thanks to our dedicated social workers. Sometimes joy arrives slowly, like a new friend, growing as trust builds and brings with it a sense of safety and comfort. You may not always be able to name it, but you can feel the trust, the trust that the library will provide not only books, but accurate information, and will meet you where you are. That trust is a gift, and we are grateful for it.
DCLS invites you, especially if you’ve been away for a while, to find your joy in our libraries not just during National Library Week, but every day. If you need help discovering that joy, we will do our very best, and our best is unlike anything else you’ll find. Libraries are one of the last institutions that ask nothing of you: no fee to enter, no cost to explore, and open access to resources, space, and support. Libraries are here to serve you. Stop in and stand up for the right to read; come by and thank the library staff; drop in and support equitable access; walk through our doors and find your story.
As always, thank you for your unwavering support of DCLS.
Happy National Library Week!