Aloha Sprinklerinos,
It won't be news to you that I am a big fan of books. I'm not a literary genius that can recite reams and reams of Shakespeare, but I have read an awful lot of chicklit, home, style and craft books and enjoy sharing them with you.
The gripe I have with books is the price. I begrudge paying a lot of money for something that I will seldom read more than once and may not even like. The answer to this is Public Libraries.
Before I had Baby Glitter and I worked in an office, I used to visit my local library quite regularly because it was right by my workplace. Then, when I became an at home Mummy, life lost it's routine a bit and I didn't feel like shlepping off to a library was convenient.
Well, I was wrong. It turns out, my local library is literally at ten minute stroll away! I only discovered this last month when I made the effort to take Baby Glitter out on a walk and was shocked at how close it actually is - I felt almost silly for not knowing.
We now go weekly and absolutely love it. It is completely free to join the library and all you have to do is walk in, go to the desk and tell them you'd like to sign up. You fill out a pretty basic form, take the card they give you and voila- it's book time!
I wanted to write this post because going to the library with Baby Glitter has become one of my happy things and this blog is a place to share and document those.
Great Things About the Library ::
Borrow :: You can take up to 8 books out for free, for up to 3 weeks. Seeing as Baby Glitter has her own card, we can leave with up to 16 and I'm glad her pram has a big basket to carry them all!
Not feel Pressured :: Knowing that borrowing is free, I don't feel stressed about what I take out. Usually I will take quite a selection and may only read 1-2, but that's alright, I haven't just had to shell out £80 like I would have in a shop.
Be calm :: Libraries are quiet, tranquil places and I happen to really enjoy the peace of them and feel very relaxed and soothed there.
Create :: Our library has a big table with tubs of wax crayons, pencils, felt tips and paper for children. Baby Glitter is just learning to hold these sorts of things and has already created a few masterpieces. You don't have to ask to use these things, they are just always out. Once I came to the library and saw a bunch of old ladies making quilts, which I thought was a cute little group too.
Surf :: I'm not sure if you have to pay a small fee or not, but there is a sizable bank of computers and desks, should you want to use the internet or write a document etc. I haven't looked into this but I would imagine there are also printers and a photocopier but expect you would have to contribute toward using these.
Shop :: In most libraries there are often 'sale rails' where you can buy old books for incredibly low prices.
Read :: I know this is an obvious one, but you don't actually have to leave the building with books. Quite often I will sit in the children's corner and read Baby Glitter stories and then put the books back.
Socialise :: I take Baby Glitter to a 'Rhyme Time' group (for free) where she learns songs and actions with other tots and all of the Mum's sit round the edge and rather awkwardly join in. It's really great for little ones and the musical instruments they are given to play with are very stimulating. At the end, they are given stickers and you have a chance to chat with other Mother's/Carer's.
Those are just a few of the things we do at our library but you can also borrow DVD's, Videos and CD's. I also saw a poster last week asking for young people (I think 13-19) to volunteer during the summer. I'm going to encourage my sister to do this as it will look good on her CV and be beneficial to any further education applications.
Did you know there was so much to do at a library?
Toodlepip!
xx
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