The library not only provides literacy and community but also the fundamental things a person needs to exist in the world, a staff librarian said.
National Library Week and Stress Relief Week have landed in the same week, and Drinko Library is providing snacks, a space for art, a comic strip contest and more.
Staff librarian Diane Palmieri said, “The theme this year is ‘Drawn to the Library,’ and you know we like puns, so we’re not only drawn physically to the library, but we like to draw things at the library.”
Palmieri said the library is a community in itself, and there is this gathering of various perspectives that doesn’t exist a lot outside of the building.
“The library is one of the few places on campus that is truly interdisciplinary,” Palmieri said. “No matter what you’re studying, we have stuff for you, and you can interact with people who have different ways of thinking because of their discipline, and that can help you broaden your perspective on things.”
Palmieri said the library is a place filled with resources and many minds that spark new conversations. With the Institute of Museum and Library Services staff being placed on leave, librarians are nervous.
“I serve on the legislative committee for the West Virginia Library Association, and on our committee, there’s only two academic librarians,” Palmieri said. “The rest are all from public libraries, and so I hear a lot of input from library directors across the state, and they are very, very concerned about LSTA grants, which largely fund the databases, the cataloging software, and a lot of the technical services.”
Since Drinko is an academic library and receives funding from the university, there is not as much of a risk from IMLS cuts like public libraries, Palmieri said. She said IMLS does, however, provide an incredible amount of research for public and academic libraries, especially since they are such a part of our infrastructure in the United States.
“Libraries have really become part of our infrastructure in the United States,” Palmieri said. “We think about roads and water lines and things like that, but for our information, that’s the library is what’s there for us.”
She said the library isn’t just a place where we gain information but a place that provides services that are fundamental for people’s existence.
“Everybody doesn’t have access to the internet in their house; not everybody can afford to buy books at bookstores or pay tuition at a university, so libraries are there for everybody,” Palmieri said. “And not just for those things, but also going to use a computer to apply for a job if you don’t have that at home. That’s the way most every employer takes applications these days; you have to do that online, so things like that are really fundamental and required for people just to exist in the world are provided by libraries.”
Palmieri said for anyone worried about the current situation with libraries going forward to reach out to your representatives and make sure that you are heard, because if you aren’t, they won’t make it a priority but to also not lose hope.
“We have a history of making do with very little,” Palmieri said. “I’m truly hopeful. I really am hopeful that our libraries will carry on through the hard times. We are the beacon of light in so many communities, and I think we’ll stay there.”
The National Library Week activities provided by Drinko will be going from Monday, April 7, 2025, until April 11. Palmieri said there will be an entire room dedicated on the first floor full of activities and snacks for anyone looking for a little break this week.
Soleil Woolard can be contacted at [email protected].
