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Under the headline "The booming business of American anxiety," the Wall Street Journal on Aug. 22 focused on the observation that companies are aiming to fill demand for mental-health help, but the science behind much of the industry is unclear.
The article goes on to point out that "a search for anxiety relief on Google pulls up links for supplements in the form of pills, patches, gummies and mouth sprays. There are vibrating devices that hang around your neck and tone your vagus nerve, weighted stuffed animals, bead-filled stress balls and coloring books that claim to bring calm."
But even five years ago, despite 9/11 and the pandemic, who would have thought that libraries would be on the front lines of this country's mental-health crisis? Yet, that is the situation that in fact exists in many parts of America, although it is unclear whether or how much the Southern Alleghenies region is part of that new trend or reality.
The Journal focused on libraries' positive mental-health impact in its Oct. 24 edition. But again, who would have anticipated a negative reality like what exists today even a short time ago?
In the Journal's Oct. 24 article, a 37-year-old library assistant in Huntington, W.Va., pointed out that, rather than doing just the normal things associated with library employment, he now spends most of his time assisting patrons in crisis.
"They just want someone to talk to," said the assistant, Michael Bare.
"Librarians are helping more patrons in crisis, and many cities are hiring social workers to help them," the Journal said.
According to the Journal, about two-thirds of nearly 600 library workers surveyed by Urban Librarians Unite in 2022 said they had experienced violent or aggressive behavior from patrons. Who would have thought that a quiet, serene setting such as a library would ever become so radically different?
The Journal went on to say:
"One of the few indoor public spaces open to all comers, libraries are now the scene for all that ails a public scarred by the pandemic and an opioid epidemic. For staff, that means reversing overdoses in bathrooms, confronting patrons watching pornography, or defending against people brandishing guns, or a snake in a jar. Some people come to the library to sleep, get warm or use the bathroom. Others are looking for jobs, housing or just somewhere safe to read."
Anyone who has followed the evolution and journey of the Altoona Area Public Library and the Blair County Library System over the past half-century can attest to all of the good for which they are responsible. To watch patrons young and not-so-young pass through their doors -- seemingly without any hint of concern -- is indicative of the true value of these community assets.
Too bad that description cannot be put forth for all of the libraries in America.
Sarah Johnson, a licensed social worker and adjunct lecturer at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, told the Journal that six years ago, fewer than two dozen libraries in North America employed full-time social workers. Today, she said, more than 100 employ social workers and many more have social-work interns on staff.
Library staffs in Blair, Cambria, Bedford, Somerset, Huntingdon and Fulton counties --all part of the Southern Alleghenies region -- must pay attention to what is transpiring around them.
Beyond that, they must know how best to respond, especially in cases where anxiety is "bubbling over," much to their dismay.