Going to the Library

Ever since my oldest was born, I have looked forward to taking my children to the library and sharing its magic with them.  My own mother took my siblings and I to the library often, and for many years I wanted to be a librarian (actually, I still do).  I consider the public library to be a very important parenting tool.  

However, it is not so easy – at least when kids are this young.  Don’t get me wrong – they love the library, but not exactly for my reasons.  Sophie is mainly interested in playing with the toys and puzzles in the children’s area.  It is a very inviting children’s area, and I suppose half the battle is getting PlayStation, MTV addicted children in there, but I do wish there were not so many toys.  She will occasionally grab a few books off of the shelf, none of which are usually age-appropriate.  I realize that at age three I just have to choose for her.  Kate is just a wrecking machine in there – pulling books off of shelves, trying to crawl out the door, playing with toys, etc.  We all went as a family this afternoon, and it was all Jeryl and I could do to contain Kate.  I am not going to attempt it anymore on my own as she is getting so active.

Once we get home, Sophie is always anxious to read the books I’ve selected for her, and I guess that’s what counts.  In a few more years, she’ll be more interested and capable of making better selections.  Often, I go in the evening by myself to get books for them.  That’s the only way I can choose anything for myself also.  When I was a kid, my mother often went and got us books while we were at school.  I never understood why then, but now I do.

On a side note, who can tell me what libraries have for adults in lieu of toys and puzzles?  Movies!  I’m disturbed at how libraries seem to be turning in to video stores these days.  Again, I’m sure they do it to get you in the door, but I observe a lot of people who come in only for the movies.