April 4 – 10 is National Library Week. I want to celebrate the dedicated school and community librarians and their commitment to supplying readers with great books. As a student, I arrived early in the morning to volunteer in my middle school’s library. The role allowed me to see the how the library functioned. In addition to shelving and checking out books to my schoolmates, I could claim first dibs on the popular returned books and scan the shelves daily for the coveted ones. As the youngest child in my house, books kept me company after my older sibling grew up.

Recently, I wrote a book about a character who uses the library to research a question. How unfortunate that many young people face closed libraries due to the virus or underfunding and cannot physically explore library bookshelves to discover answers to questions about their world. It’s critically important that underserved communities receive the money to fund libraries and supply books to our youngest readers. I hope federal and local governments prioritize budgetary resources so that everyone can appreciate the benefits of their own library card and fall in love with books and libraries.