What is with the Library these days? or rather, what is with the kids at the Library these days?!?
I loved the Library as a kid. I could spend hours reading books, looking at books, and listening to books being read. I even remember where both of the branches near my house were. Now that I'm a pseudo-adult, I still love the Library. One reason is that I still love books. Another reason is that although I still love books, I'm too cheap to actually buy those books unless I really, really, really love them. Seriously, though. How cool is it in this day and age that there is a place that will let you take home books for free on basically what is the honor system? You check it out, you read it. If you love it, you renew it and read it again. If you really, really love it, you return it and then go buy it. It's like test driving cars - you get to see if you like it first before you commit to a purchase.
It's always been my hope that my kids would love the Library too. Things look good with Karlin, seeing as we practically have to pry books out of her hands just to get her to eat or take a bath. Chase is intrigued too, and reads more than he thinks I know about.
My normal routine is to seek out the books I want on-line, and put a hold on them. When they are ready, I go check them out. The guilt seeps in, though, when I remember all my trips to the Library as a child. So I wait until after school, and take both kids to the Library. I pick up the 5 books I have on hold for Karlin while Chase hangs in the kid's library, and Karlin checks out the Juvie section. I run back and pick out two travel books on the Grand Canyon (in preparation for my 40th Birthday hike-to-the-bottom-of-hell-and-back-out-the-other-side-trip) and two dog training books (yet another effort to find some way to control the drooling smelly animal that is ruining my backyard.) When I get back to the Kid's Library, where do I find both kids? AT THE DAMNED COMPUTERS. Chase is playing some retarded-looking Barney alphabet game, and Karlin is playing on the Webkinz site. I was pissed. We have a computer at home, for crying out loud. Why do they even need them in the Kid's Library? In this day and age of PS3s and Webkinz and Ipods, do kids really need anymore reasons to NOT find books interesting?
So I tried to let them finish their stupid games while I perused my Grand Canyon book. But I couldn't concentrate because there was this lady in there with a wailing 3 month old. And I mean screaming at the top of her little baby lungs. For more than 15 minutes. I couldn't believe mom wouldn't, oh, I don't know, step outside or something until she could get that baby asleep. The doors to the Kid's Library were wide open, so it could easily be heard throughout the entire Library. (The branch right near our house is only 2 years old, and they put an interior Children's Library inside of it with sound-proof glass walls and doors. Great idea, right? Kids can be seen, but not heard! Unfortunately, the Library staff has some freakish aversion to closing the doors. I even asked them to once, since the doors to the Children's room is right next to the exit door, and the exit door is a motion door that leads right out to the parking lot. Chase used to dash and I thought it would be, oh, I dunno, safer if the kids didn't have immediate access to traffic? They wouldn't close it. Said something ridiculous like "it disrupts the air flow.")
So after 15 minutes, I checked out all of our books (I did force Chase off the computer and told him to go choose at least 4 books - he went to the 1st shelf and pulled off 4 books, then went back to Barney) and made my kids get off the computers. Insert pathetic whines here.
I tried to explain to them in my very best Mommy voice that the Library is for books, NOT for computer games. If they want computer time at home, they can ask for it, but we don't go to the Library to play on the ($#&^!*) computers!!!
Under normal circumstances, I could say that I spend too much time on the computer as well, I'm exempt from that lately, though, since I am now in my 4th reading of the entire Twilight Saga. I just cannot get enough of that crap! No audio books, though - I'm reading the real deal.
In the end I am disappointed. Disappointed that my kids don't "big puffy heart" the Library. Disappointed that they think of the Library as a game arcade. And disappointed that I've done such a poor job convincing them otherwise.
Guess I'll have to work on that one a bit. At least until my Sookie Stackhouse books become available.
1 comment:
Oh, ma-a-a-a-a-a-an, did you tap into a major pet peeve with me. I love the library. I practically lived in various ones growing up. One of the things I'm most proud of is instilling a love of reading into TheChamp and HannaMontana'sBiggestFan. They consider it a HUGE deal to get to pick up a book, bookstore, library, Renaissance Faire, museum, wherever. They even have a blast when we hit the second-hand bookstore because to them it's like a treasure hunt (old stuff is cool).
These two know the deal with libraries: It's a quiet zone. Bring the books/CDs/percussion instruments (long story)/whatever back in two weeks or the librarian pulls out a tazer on your butt. No running. No eating or drinking. And no ever-lovin' cell phones!!!!!! But they seem to be the only ones in our area who know these things.
Last time we went, there was some jerk pierced to within an inch of her life who was there to get something done for class I suppose and just yakkin' away – LOUDLY – on the damn phone. I asked her to be quiet or take it outside and got nothing. I gave her the Jedi Death Glare and reminded her it was a damn library and not the freakin' food court at the mall. She stomped away and it was much quieter but damn… aren't these like basic things you learn, like, in kindergarten, things such as "no cuts?"
As for the computers, I know what you're saying and I totally agree. They get so much computer stuff I've tended to push the book thing and emphasize the comps are only to be used as a card catalog-type resource. 'Course, then they look at me like, What's a card catalogue? :p
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