Remember the television show Cheer’s?  Where Norm sat in his usual chair and the theme was “everyone knows your name”.  Sure there’s no bar or alcohol, but one of the library’s goals is to make sure everyone feels like they belong here.  A public library in New Hampshire says it best, “A place of safety and discovery for everyone.” 

As I heard during Professional Development Day and studies prove, belonging is an important factor in a student’s well-being.  The library can be that place of belonging for your students.  

How do we make students feel like they belong?   We greet the students with a smile and a “How can I help you?”  We respect their areas of research and interest. We have cozy seats, desks, study carrels, a quiet room and group study areas.  We have books and magazines from a variety of perspectives and formats including graphic novels, electronic and print.  We have things they need like phone chargers, calculators, textbooks, note cards, envelopes and folders. Librarians are not the Shushers from the past, but the helpers of the future.

So send us your students.  The library can be a safe haven for them, much like the Statue of Liberty is still a symbol of freedom and welcoming.

Give us your tired, your poor,
Your clustered citations of websites free,
The wretched research list with a low score.
Send these, clueless, future scholars to be,
We will help them to feel alone no more!