(Coming soon…Part II – The Intangible Value of Libraries)
The library may be one of the most underrated resource for the stay-at-home parent. We’d all likely agree that books are good and that we want our kids to read, but this only scratches the surface of a library’s potential benefits. Here are some obvious advantages to utilizing the local library:
1. Cost – For the frugal family on a budget, the price can’t be beat – free (as long as the books aren’t overdue). Even if you’re about to miss a return date, many libraries even allow you to renew online. Make the library an extension of your home’s bookshelf. Each time you return books, leave with as many or more new ones.
2. Story times/Activities – If you check your local library’s website, chances are that you’ll find activities to suit kids from toddler to school-aged. For example, when they were infants, I took my kids to free Mommy & Me-type classes (while giving instructions, the teachers would always politely correct themselves to include “Daddies too,” for my sake), and later, countless story times and sing-alongs . More recently, we took part in a hands-on reptile program, where we got to learn about, see, and touch at least a half dozen snakes, lizards and turtles. These were free events and it was simply a matter of checking the library website for dates/times.
3. Summer reading programs – To keep kids reading over the summer and to get new/future readers excited about books, libraries offer a simple incentive program. In our case this summer at our local library, my kids were encouraged to complete four reading-related tasks to get a sticker. After gaining four stickers, they would complete the program and get a prize. It gave them an opportunity to set goals and a sense of accomplishment when they finished. Some might argue that providing such incentives for reading could corrupt a child’s motivations but to me, the activities which surrounded the program were just a bonus as we continued the same frequency of reading after the program ended.
4. Constant source of new/free/age-appropriate materials – Rather than just buying more and more books as your kids get older and outgrow the earlier ones, you can always have new books on hand to pique their current interests. Naturally, there’s nothing inherently wrong with amassing your own library at home but frequent use of the library allows for fresh material at any time. If they don’t take to a particular book that might otherwise sit untouched on their bookshelf, you can simply keep trying until you’ve found a story or series that they’ll truly enjoy. And again, unless the books are overdue, it won’t cost you anything.
As I have suggested, these are some rather obvious benefits to utilizing your local library. The follow-up will delve deeper into these and others in Part II – The Intangible Value of Libraries, which will be posted within the next day or two, so stay tuned.
Stuck with Dad 