When my oldest son was a toddler, our family rediscovered the library. It became an economical and environmental way of reading new books. My spouse would read at least a half dozen books to our son every night. If we didn’t have a library to pool resources, we would have been stuck reading the same books week after week or spend a small fortune on creating our own personal library. Even when my son was tiny, he loved going to the library to select books. It was a special treat to allow him to help with the self-checkout. He’d carefully scan the bar codes and would run to the car with the long receipt trailing behind him like a streamer.
We love our library. I take my sons there at least once a week to finish homework, play on the computer, and check out books. We check out DVDs and CDs – even video games – at our library too. The library has become a part of our family culture.
Research shows that $1 invested in a library yields a return of more than $4 for the average community. In good times or bad, libraries provide the kind of economic stimulus that benefits everyone.
National Library Week is April 8-14, 2012. To celebrate, San Jose Public Libraries are hosting fun Scavenger Hunts for kids ages 6 and up. If you haven’t been to your local library for awhile, maybe it’s time to reconnect.
