Thursday, October 13, 2016

Libraries are Obsolete

Are libraries obsolete?
Does anyone actually use libraries anymore?

The question seems to come up regularly and it made me wonder... how many of you have a current library card for your public libraries??  I had a library card as a little girl and remember my mom taking us to the library regularly.  Then, I went YEARS without having a library card as an adult.  I ended up getting a card when I was teaching so I could use the library to do some tutoring.

Now that I'm a parent I'm a proud library card member again.  

I wasn't sure how much we'd use the library or if my kids would enjoy it, but I've been pleasantly surprised.  The library in our city is always bustling.  We try to make it there once a week and are thrilled at the variety of programs they offer for young kids.  Our kid section was completely remodeled last year and it's amazing.  There are so many fun kid things to do and it's quickly become one of our favorite places to visit.

I love that the activity calendar is online so I pencil all the things we're interested in going to on our calendar and then we try to go to several a month.  Olive asks to go to the "Lie-berry" and she's learned so much from their programs.

She's figured out how to use an elevator,
listen to a teacher,
be brave to participate when she's new,
play with musical instruments,
learn how to do a parachute,
share toys with new children,
get introduced to many new books and authors
and learn so many new songs.

She goes around singing those songs, recounting what she's learned at the library and it's a JOY to see her learning in a new environment.  I've also been impressed at how they include the babies in the programs.  They always give me instruments for Fletcher and talk to him as though he's a part of the class too.  Sometimes he sleep through our classes and other times he's paying close attention.  

We LOVE going to the library together and really enjoy meeting friends there!

MUSIC CLASS:


I should also mention that our librarians are SO SWEET!  We have never been shushed, asked to quiet down or been expected to be silent in the library.  The kids are encouraged to move, explore and learn while they are there and I know that is a huge part of why we love going.



They also plan cute days like PIRATE STORY TIME and it was a blast for everyone.  Stories, songs and stations all about pirates.



I appreciate all of their learning stations scattered throughout.  Olive always goes for the Legos and it's fun to watch her learning how to build with them.

We really enjoy being out and about at the library and we will often stop for a sprinkled treat on our way home.  I'm a fan of this routine... read, learn, eat :)
 
I hope you'll give your library a second chance if it's been a while since you've been there.  We are big fans!!  I'm hoping to find out more about our adult section, movie rentals, etc. so that I can take advantage of the library services for myself.  I feel good about our participation in the children's section so it'll be fun to get more involved in what they have to offer for the adults.

Tell me how you use your library!

Currently we are reading lots of Halloween and Fall books, rhyming books and animal books.  I will pick out books for us and then I read books Olive selects.  She's really interested in animals, friends and so I knew she'd love God Bless My Friends.by Hannah C. Hall.

God Bless My Friends is another darling book by Hannah Hall.  We own God Bless My Boo Boo and it's so sweet and her newest book lived up to every expectation we had.  The illustrations are precious, the animal friends on each page facilitate great conversations and the rhyming of the text is great.  My daughter loves this book and we have already read it multiple times.  She loves pointing out how different animals are friends and how they help each other out because of their differences.  For example, the mouse and the giraffe are friends and the giraffe helps lift the mouse to things he cannot reach.  They both benefit and are better friends because of their differences.  It's such a great message and my three year old easily understood the concepts.  I'm excited to read this with her and help her to see how her real life friends are blessings to her.  I'd highly recommend this book as it's already become a favorite in our house.
*I was gifted this book in exchange for an honest review of it.

17 comments:

  1. We love our library! When the kids were little, we did all the story and play times. Now that they are older, they have volunteered there in the summer. Our library is also bustling with activity. In fact, it's one of the busiest in our huge city. I also volunteer there once a week. I think libraries have really kept up with the times and become more diverse in their activities. I can tell from the pictures that your kids just love it there!

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  2. I just finished my master's in library media and hope to be a school librarian one day. I frequently go to my town's public library, but I can see how it's changed since I was a little girl. Funding is down and so hours are shorter. It's so sad! So for the extra credit I offer to my students I include the public library--they have to get a free library card, do a scavenger hunt, check out a book, etc. I'm so glad you are starting your kids off in visiting the library at an early age and hopefully they will continue to do that once they are grown!
    Sarah at MeetTheShaneyfelts

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  3. We have a library card and love going there even though it is kind of dirty and gross :P. I wish I was kidding about that. The good news is they are building a new one hooray! I love having so many books accessible to my girls.

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  4. Great pics of your littles! The program looks so fun and engaging.

    We are at the library at least three times a week. I love being on a first name basis with the librarians, ha! I honestly don't know what I'd do without it! I think in this digital age libraries are going above and beyond to appeal to kids of all ages. Ours have activites for babies through high school. They even have a volunteer program for youth to help reshelve books. I think Havah might apply at some point. I would've loved that as a kid :)

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  5. I haven't been to the library in AGES, but I do remember loving going as a kid. I feel like as my husband and I have kids, we'll be making our way back there more frequently than we go now

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  6. Libraries are so great! We utilize ours more in the summer, but I just love it!

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  7. We visit the library each week for story time. We are huge fans of libraries and use them for all kinds of resources.

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  8. LOVE the library!! It's one of my girls favorite things to do!! And I think it's so fun to check out books for myself...it's like going on a shopping spree...for free! ;)

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  9. We go to the library every week, sometimes 2x/week. I use ebooks and audio books more than hardback books, but I still love to browse the racks and see what's available. My kids also love to look and touch the books, and our librarians offer so many suggestions. Our library is quite the asset to our community!

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  10. Well since I am a librarian (at a school) I get to hear about the new trends fairly early on. This year I have even created stations (aka makerspaces) in my own library. We create a lot of different things and do small science experiments. The kids love doing these activities. I have my students for 40 minutes at a time so we do 20 minutes reading and 20 minutes of hands on learning.

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  11. This may be one of my favorite posts ever!! I've been thinking about writing my own library post on how incredible yet under utilized libraries are! We are at our library at least once a week and I absolutely give credit to the library for helping me get out of the house when the kids were little and I frequently looked like a hot mess. I recently accepted a position on the board for our library and I'm excited to see how I can help it grow and improve!

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  12. I love the library! I've always had a library card and enjoy checking out books, magazines and even DVD's. My sister lives in a small town and is such a frequent library visitor that she invited the librarians to her wedding! :)

    Whitney @ Come Home For Comfort

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  13. Our 2 different County library programs are amazing. They are a little more appropriate for 3 and up so I'm excited to be able to do more with H this winter - perfect time for it! We have a library card too!

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  14. English major nerd over here- I've never been without a library card- home, obx, Charleston, new home- I have a collection haha! I do a mix of checking out "real" books and utilizing digital reader borrows- awesome feature! Our library moved recently and the new space is so much fun for the kids. Lawter walks to the library with daycare for story time in Wednesday's and she's totally in love so she begs to go on weekends and we'll check her out a book and she'll proudly ask for her library book each night at storytime. This makes me happy because when we're there she just wants to build with huge blocks! Ha

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  15. I don't mind libraries a all. In fact, we have library cards, though we haven't been in awhile. Our towns library participates in a statewide library lending system online. That's how I've been able to check out and read/listen to the few books I have this year! :)

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  16. I remember riding my bike to our town library. It was just a little library, but I loved it. I had my card number memorized. It's no longer open and the closest one is 15 minutes either way. Maybe in the future I can take my kids and we can enjoy that time together.

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  17. I don't currently have a library card because I have an Amazon problem. Why would I borrow books when I can buy them? Haha.

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