Three Things Librarians Wish Parents Knew About the Library
by Adrienne Furness
One of the great joys in my life is the amount of time I’ve been able to spend working with families in public libraries. It’s a wonder to me every time I see people learning, understanding, and growing—and that's just a normal part of my workday. Watching this, I often wonder why more people aren’t using libraries or aren’t using them more fully, and I know the answer is because there are a lot of people who don’t really know what we have to offer. And so I am offering you three things I wish everyone knew about libraries.
1. Librarians love kids.
Librarians love kids. All kids. Even loud kids who hate to read. Libraries are about learning, and kids need to learn in a variety of ways, so we’re all set up to celebrate and encourage that. We want all families to feel welcome to come in, try things out, and stay a while. If you bring us a kid who struggles with reading, we don’t see a problem. We see potential.
2. Shop around.
Most public libraries are part of a library system, and within those systems, it is typical that you can use the card from one library at any of the system’s other libraries. Often, you can even return items to a different library than you borrowed them from without penalty. Every library has its own strengths in terms of collections, programs, staff, facilities, and hours. It’s well worth visiting around and seeing what the different libraries in your area have to offer.
3. All you need is a LOT of books.
One of the biggest factors in whether or not a child becomes a reader is exposure to a lot of books, pure and simple, and libraries are a great way to expose your kids to a lot of books week after week. So let your child check out more books than they can read, even the ones they can’t read yet and the ones way below their reading level. Research tells us there’s value in this. Try comics and audiobooks, too. A lot of people think of them as cheating, but research has shown they’re a fantastic way to build vocabulary. I talk to a lot of parents who are anxious about their children’s reading, but the truth is that learning how to read takes time and a ton of practice. I recommend relaxing and approaching books with joy.
Adrienne Furness is director of the Henrietta Public Library, part of the Monroe County Library System in the Rochester, NY area.