April 4-10 marks National Library Week, so let's shine a light on our bookish heroes: the librarians!

Photo Credit: Goodreads / Facebook

Do I have enough toilet paper? What are the symptoms? Will I still have a job? When will the pandemic be over?

“I swear to you that to think too much is a disease, a real, actual disease,” Fyodor Dostoyesky once wrote.

That’s exactly what everyone was doing at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year.

People lost their jobs and it was as if the whole world was on shutdown when there were orders to stay home locked indoors and to only go out for essential needs. Those who were not homebodies had to adapt to this new lifestyle and learn to take on new activities that didn’t require going out as often. Instead of just twiddling one’s thumbs and staring out the window, one’s computer screen, or television all day, it was the smart ones who used their time wisely and took on reading.

There was a rise in print book sales in 2020, according to NPD Bookscan.

There are many heroes to thank for their support during these hard times and they finally received the recognition they deserved in the media. Doctors and nurses, teachers, delivery drivers, sanitation workers, and cashiers are just to name a few. Another overlooked hero, however, are the librarians.

Mary Lou, who works at Clearfield Library, has been a librarian for nearly 22 years. She describes the library as a place for everyone and books as a getaway from the current situation.

“A lot of people see it as a really good escape if you’re tired listening to the news. [They] would come to our curbside service and tell us what our favorite authors were,” she said.

When Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced that Western New York may enter Phase 1 of New York Forward, a four-phase re-opening plan focused on getting people back to work and easing social isolation, in late May 2020, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz left it up to Buffalo and Erie County Public Library municipal libraries to consider walk-up and curbside pick-up, leaving the determination up to the local libraries' Board of Trustees.

“They would say, ‘You know I need a really good story to take off all my worries right now and give me a little escapism.’ I think that’s been a really good resource for people,” the librarian said.

In late June 2020, 40 percent of U.S. adults reported “considerably elevated adverse mental health conditions associated with COVID-19,” according to a CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

It is the librarians who helped their communities manage their mental health.

Bibliotherapy is a term used to describe “facilitating psychological growth and healing through reading,” according to Psychology Today.

Mary Lou, who loves historical fiction, mysteries and science fiction, describes reading as the perfect hobby.

“You can read a novel that takes you to a place that you wouldn't be able to necessarily visit. They open so many new worlds and new possibilities for people,” she said.

When the CDC identified 24 hours as the best disinfectant for paper, librarians helped ensure the safety of the bibliophile community by quarantining returned library materials for a time period of four days which was eventually reduced to two days, according to Mary Lou.

She is warmed by the love and appreciation of the community and says she is not overlooked.

“We have lots of people that tell us how wonderful we are and that they love the library and they’re so glad we’re open again. I had one lady who just came in today. She had just gotten her vaccinations done, and she was so happy to be back and out again and this was one of the first places that she said she came to,” she said. “It's really been very touching to see how many people really truly appreciate us being here and really love coming in.”