Carbon County officials know the importance of both libraries and 911 dispatchers.

On Thursday, the county commissioners honored both entities by adopting proclamations naming April 9-15 as both National Library Week and National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week.Library weekCommissioner Thomas J. Gerhard read the proclamation for the libraries, saying, "Pennsylvania libraries have long served as trusted and treasured institutions, and library workers and librarians fuel efforts to better their communities, campuses and schools."The board commended area libraries, including Dimmick Memorial in Jim Thorpe, Palmerton Area Library and Lehighton Library, which had representatives present to accept the proclamation, as well as smaller libraries such as Panther Valley, Weatherly and Penn-Kidder libraries, for their efforts over the years.Diane Danielson of the Palmerton Area Library was grateful for the support."We are not just books and movies," she said. "We have so many other things" like computers, after-school events for students, yoga, concerts and more."All of our libraries do so many wonderful things for the community."Valarie Sellix of the Lehighton Library echoed Danielson's thoughts."Public libraries are so very important and crucial in this day in age," she said. "Especially for children, because on average one in five children do not have access to home internet, and most schools are requiring children to submit their work online. Without a public library, a lot of these kids wouldn't get their work done."Sellix said they help adults as well, especially those who do not have access to computers to find jobs or even homes.Telecommunicators weekCommissioners' Chairman Wayne Nothstein, who is an emergency responder, spoke about the importance of having dependable 911 dispatchers because they are the first voice a person hears when an emergency strikes."In an emergency, most Americans depend on 911," the proclamation states. "Each day, more than half a million public safety telecommunicators answer desperate calls for help, responding with services that save the lives and property of citizens in need of assistance."Nothstein said he has been at the communications center many of times when the dispatchers are giving first aid instruction to callers and try and keep the callers calm until help arrives."It takes a toll on our dispatchers," he said. "I want to commend them for the job they do at keeping their cool during very stressful situations."