The Lehighton Area Memorial Library is celebrating the month of February and Valentine's Day by asking patrons to pen "love letters" to the library with its "Dear Library" campaign.

The campaign was inspired by the decorative R-E-A-D letters in the library. These letters were rearranged randomly when staff members were decorating for Christmas, and inadvertently spelled "dear.""I thought, after Christmas comes Valentine's Day, and what more is Valentine's Day about than love letters?" said library aide Kathy Long.While staff members toyed with the idea, the campaign was solidified when a number of patrons expressed their appreciation for the library. Staff members soon realized that gathering these thanks, and making sure the right people heard them, should be an important goal."People have been telling us lately that they really appreciate that they could come in and use the computers, or they really appreciate that we have a certain series of books," said Long. "It kind of surprised us. We're here to serve the public, so it never dawned on us that people appreciate that we do this."While hearing praise is always nice, the library doesn't plan to just collect these compliments. Long plans to share these "love letters" with the library's current and past supporters and local government officials to show that the library is truly needed, and to both thank them for their support and encourage them to continue supporting the library."People think that libraries aren't needed any more, that people are walking around with smartphones or just don't go to the library," she said. "But that's not true. The library is very much needed."Long noted that in addition to the building's book and magazine selection, the library also offers free public Internet access and Wi-Fi, electronic books and magazines, and a meeting place for community members. The library currently hosts a book club, coloring club, and two story times.Over the years, the library's financial support has fallen as individual, government and community donations dwindled. The Lehighton library was forced last year to cut staff members and hours, and is now closed on Mondays."People need to let us know what they like about the library. Hearing these things is encouraging to us, and also proof to those in government that we are needed," said Long. "We realize that the library isn't the first thing that people think about when they're building a budget. There are a lot of things that are higher on the list. We want to bring the library into better focus."She noted that any negative comments will be accepted as well, and hopes that these comments will help both the staff and supporters to provide the best services possible.For Long, the best part of working at the library is working with patrons of all ages, including the youngest in the community. If she were to pen her own love letter to the library, she imagined it would sound something like this:"Dear Library, I am glad you are here with your wealth of knowledge in your collections of books for me to read and enjoy. I am glad you are here for the young people, so that they cannot only be educated and entertained, but that they might have a building block for the future, that they know that you will be here for them when they grow up," she said."Some children search for and pick out books like they are a treasure. Those children make my heart melt. To see those kids grow up and become teenagers and still come into the library, that's amazing," she said. "The library is touching young lives, and I think that is absolutely wonderful."