The March 3, edition of Woman’s Day magazine has an article that will bring tears to the eyes of even the sternest, most stoic librarian. The title of the article is “The Library Made Me Healthier.” It is the story of four disparate library users in various parts of the country.

The first is the story of Elaine who lives in San Francisco. She was waiting in the hospital oncology ward for her husband to be scheduled for surgery. It was near Valentine’s Day. The hearts and cupids decorating the hospital hallway only served to further depress her. When a nurse told her to take a break to get away from the hospital for a bit, Elaine wandered into a nearby library. Upon entering she was met by a display of library books with a romantic theme. She skipped over Romeo and Juliet and Doctor Zhivago. She chose a small book of poetry by Mary Oliver.

In that little volume she read the poem “University Hospital, Boston”, about another woman in a similar situation. She hurried back to the hospital to read and re-read that poem aloud to her husband throughout the night. Her husband finally had the surgery and they shared a hospital Valentine’s Day dinner of vending machine snacks and ice chips.

Isn’t that the sweetest story? Sometimes things happen at just the right time. I wanted to read the whole poem so I typed in University Hospital, Boston/Mary Oliver into an internet search engine and easily found it. It is beautifully written, a comfort to those facing health issues of a beloved spouse.

There are three more similarly inspiring library stories in that Woman’s Day issue. One from a younger woman who finally gave birth to her first child after several disappointing years of hoping. She was confused and concerned at her post-partum state of mind. She turned to her local library to research her issues and found that she wasn’t alone in her desperation. Medical treatment was successful and she is now a happier mother of two.

The third story concerns a recent retiree to rural Colorado. When she was diagnosed with an illness she also turned to her local library for information. At the end of her story she thanked her doctor, family and friends and her little mountain library.

The last story is written by Linda Slayton from Des Moines. Diabetes robbed her of most of her vision. After a period of depression she contacted the Iowa Department for the Blind. They put her in touch with the Library of Congress. They send audio books directly to her home. Although hers isn’t the story of a cozy little community library, a library none-the-less made a big difference in her quality of life.

We’ve all been a little grumpy around here. We’ve lost our zip, our zest, our enthusiasm. I think it is seasonal. Will this interminable winter never end? This article was just what we needed to help us remember why we are librarians.

Most days we just match up the newest James Patterson novel with an eager reader. We check out a stack of dvds to a family who is once again facing a long weekend with a bunch of rowdy, housebound children. We tell 15 phone callers that our tax preparation appointments are all full, call earlier next year. We quiet noisy children. We try to offer a smile to someone who looks like he/she needs one.

But, every once in awhile, we have the opportunity to change lives.