The Treasured Library

I love the library–particularly the ‘juvenile’ section, but all of it. First, you’ve got the books and the knowledge that if your fines are paid down (which is not an uncommon issue for me), you can take whatever one you choose home with you, free. Not just books mind you, audio books, dvds, equipment. When I was a kid we’d regularly borrow a VCR, bring it home and watch movies we otherwise couldn’t–namely Anne of Green Gables and Beauty and the Beast. (We didn’t own a VCR until someone gave us one when I was 13).

Then, in college I learned to write and actually use the library as a tool. First, you search by topic and author and it’s like hunting down a treasure. I LOVE doing research (on the right topic) and having books or articles specially shipped to me or emailed or accessed, free. And, did you know you can request certain books be added to your library’s collection just so you can check them out? Awesome. Or, if you don’t feel like driving to central library downtown, put in a request and they’ll transfer what you need to the library closest to you in about 2 days! It’s really amazing to have a free resource like this, especially for us homeschoolers. Between that and Youtube I’m not sure anyone really needs a curriculum!

I haven’t even mentioned the programs and activities they have for children and adults. Knitting, story time, summer reading, movies, afterschool stuff, book clubs, internet libraries, rosetta stone, librarians in general (whom are usually superbly kind)…For all the pitfalls of government organized services, the library is really one of the best things I think our tax money gets us.

Above is a picture of all the books we took out this week. Mainly Penguin books because, on account of our Zootles (by zoobooks) magazine focusing on them, so are we. It’s been a really neat thing to explore and Naomi is really to the age where details about animals and their characteristics are sticking, so she can re-share them later. It’s neat, and she’s learning to get excited about how the library works as well. We hunted down ‘Juv 598.47’ together and what a thrill when she saw the shelf full of penguin related reading material! Very cool.

And the few extras are books I threw in simply because they looked amazing. Like A to Z Picture Book I LOVE Gyo Fujikawa‘s art. It’s nostalgic and pleasing and modern and vintage all at the same time. The colors are a little muted, but also bright and you have to really look to notice all the detail and enjoy it completely. And with the library we get to sample and enjoy without committing to buy. But, now I want to buy the whole Fujikawa library for our home!

So. What do YOU have from the library right now?