This week, the University Libraries joins libraries in schools, campuses and communities nationwide in celebrating the many ways libraries are transforming their communities every day through the services and invaluable expertise they offer.
April 9-15 is National Library Week, a time to highlight the changing role of libraries, librarians and library workers. Libraries aren’t only a place of quiet study, but also creative and engaging community centers where people can collaborate using new technologies.
Libraries of all types are evolving to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Elected officials, small business owners, students and the public at large depend upon libraries and the resources they offer to address the needs of their communities. By providing such resources as e-books and technology classes, materials for English-language learners, programs for job seekers or a safe haven in times of crisis, libraries and librarians transform their communities.
The University Libraries play a crucial role at MU by providing access to core scholarly journals, books and discovery tools that support research. Many students benefit from the knowledge and skills of our librarians who schedule class instructional opportunities and one-on-one consultations with individual and small groups of students conducting research. In addition, our campus libraries are popular locations for study.
Libraries also offer something unique to their communities, the expertise of individual librarians. Librarians assist patrons in using increasingly complex technology and sorting through the potentially overwhelming mass of information bombarding today’s digital society. This is especially crucial when access to reliable and trustworthy data is more important than ever.
First sponsored in 1958, National Library Week is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April.
For more information, visit the University of Missouri Libraries website at library.missouri.edu. .