Edgewater library

Good work and honorable service should be recognized, so I’d like to please publicly commend the employees at the Edgewater Public Library.

For many months now, I’ve been visiting this library almost daily. I’m seeking better employment, so the computers and printer kiosks here are a great help as I apply for jobs online. Each and every time I visit, I’m amazed at the talent, professionalism and interpersonal skills displayed by the librarians, assistants and volunteers who work here.

Libraries have become many things to many people. No longer just a repository for books and periodicals, libraries now also provide computers, copiers, Wi-Fi and meeting spaces.

At any given time in the Edgewater branch, you might see an individual seeking various printed tax forms, a mother beaming at her child’s publicly displayed artwork, a professional tutor teaching a student mathematics, a non-English-speaking visitor needing help with an online job application, a student seeking books for a school report, a gardening club gathering in one of the meeting rooms or who knows what else.

Visitors from all walks of life enter the doors with an endless list of needs and wants, and they do so with varying levels of coping abilities and respect for others. The challenges they present run the gamut. This, of course, means library employees wind up being much more than information providers.

They also serve as counselors, computer tutors, IT specialists, teachers, mentors and ring leaders. And, when school-age visitors run amok, the employees often need to be fill-in parents as well.

Through it all, the employees here kindly and capably welcome one and all, and they gladly help in any way they can. The stresses they deal with are outnumbered only by the number of times they make a positive impact on peoples’ lives.

Here’s to my local library — and the wonderful people who work here. Thank you for everything. You do so much for so many, and we’re a better community because of you. DAVE SACKS Annapolis