<\/p>\n
National Library Week is underway, and Erie County Public Library leaders say the celebration is about more than books \u2014 it\u2019s about the joy and connection libraries bring to the community.<\/p>\n
Families have been filling the Blasco Library throughout the week as staff highlight the role libraries play across the county. The American Library Association reports more than 16,000 public libraries operate nationwide, serving millions of visitors each year. Locally, library officials say their mission extends far beyond lending materials.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of times when people ask what libraries do for communities, we talk about workforce development, and resources, and books,\u201d said Executive Director Jessica Spitulski. \u201cBut one thing we sometimes miss is that libraries bring joy. Reading is joyful, connecting with people is joyful, and all of our programs bring joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s theme, Find Your Joy, has resonated with visitors. Staff say they\u2019ve received kind notes and even treats from patrons who want to show their appreciation.<\/p>\n
The celebration also comes as the library prepares for major changes. The Mead Children\u2019s Library at Blasco is currently under construction, though families can still access children\u2019s books in a temporary space marked by a colorful sticker walkway. Leaders say the relocation ensures full access while crews work to transform the children\u2019s area into a redesigned, modern space.<\/p>\n
As the school year winds down, the library is also gearing up for a busy summer of reading programs, activities and community events \u2014 all centered-on sparking curiosity and joy for visitors of every age.<\/p>\n
Library officials say details on the construction timeline will be released soon. Families are encouraged to visit their local branch and sign up for upcoming summer reading programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"National Library Week is underway, and Erie County Public Library leaders say the celebration is about more than…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":173780,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[77939,37084,14510,136,17027,138,137,77938,77940,77937,76078],"class_list":{"0":"post-173779","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-erie","8":"tag-american-library-association","9":"tag-blasco-library","10":"tag-community-events","11":"tag-erie","12":"tag-erie-county-public-library","13":"tag-erie-headlines","14":"tag-erie-news","15":"tag-find-your-joy","16":"tag-library-construction","17":"tag-national-library-week","18":"tag-summer-reading"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=173779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/173779\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/173780"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=173779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=173779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=173779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}