Wednesday, May 16, 2012

10 reasons you should love the Library

A small sample of one trip to the library

We love the library. I'm a huge reader and I hope I'm getting my girls to be the same. We go to the library every week. Yep... every week.  I'll give you ten  good reasons why you need to go to the library today if not tomorrow.

1. Books are never old or tired of.
We check out at least 20 books for them every time we go. Sometimes they will pick out ones we have read before but for the most part , they are always new. I ask K what she wants to read about, look it up and bam, there we go.  They do have their own books that we own and love getting new ones but we could never keep up with how much they like new books.

2. It's Free
To me, it's the thrill of getting new things for free! Where else can you do this? Uh...no where. Ok... maybe your mom's house but it's not nice to always take her stuff. You don't live there anymore remember?

3. 1000s of DVDs
The DVD collection for the kids is reason enough to go. There are hundreds, if not thousands of kids movies and shows on DVD and we can watch them all.  When they get sick of one, we go get another one. We canceled our mail-to -home DVD service and this has been so much better. They may not have the newest stuff but that's what Redbox , Netflix or Best buy is for.

4. It's a place to go
You just have to get out of the house because...it's been raining/it's too hot/you've been sick/ the kids are driving you crazy.... just pick a reason. My other stay at home mommies can relate. I pack up the kids and we drive over to the library for 30-45 minutes. It take about that long before S starting singing loudly or rearranging the book shelves in a not so nice kinda way. It's time away from home and  a break for mommy. We even go to other branches  that I call "  New  libraries" K thinks it's pretty cool when we go to a " new library" Like, how did you find this, mom?

5. The CDs
You may have to wait a while but you can listen to a whole brand new cd and decide if you even like it enough to buy it. It has seriously saved me tons. Again, for free.

6. Summer Reading Club
 ah... the summer reading club. You have a certain number of books to read and then you get a prize. Last year we got a bag, a bouncy ball, a book, and some food coupons.  When we were little it was a pizza card from Pizza Hut. You got your own personal pan pizza!!!! Oh, the sheer kid bliss of it all. That was reason enough for me. In a house of three kids, nothing was ever your own. But this little pizza was mine, all mine.

7. You can donate your old books/magazines
Yes, they will take your new and gently used books and even magazines and sell them to benefit the library. There is usually a table or box right when you are walking in the doors. (This is true for the Saint Louis county branches. I'm not sure about others.)

8. Your family tree could be there
I'm a family tree junkie ( you just haven't witnessed it...yet) I love learning new things about old relatives and sharing it with my family. At the Main Saint Louis County and  Main Saint Louis City Branch, they have a whole section/ wing/ level dedicated to genealogy. It's completely fascinating.

9. Activities for kids
There are craft days, read out loud days, and movie days. A lot of this is for kids older than mine but I can't wait to take them when they can both enjoy it.

10. E-Books
Now you can get on your kindle, nook or IPad some really great books that you don't have pay for. There is still a limit on how long you can keep them but you can just re-request it and there you go. I plan on taking out a few for our upcoming vacation.

K reading one of my horse books in her pjs.

I'm sure I could think of more but that will have to be part two.  For my Saint Louis peeps....here are some links to get you started:

Saint Louis County Library
Saint Louis City Library
Jefferson County Library
Kirkwood Library
Saint Charles City-County Library

And if you want to boggle your mind... The Library of Congress. I would love to go there some day.

20 comments:

  1. First of all, great pic. Second, are we on the same wavelength? I just left the library with about 30lbs of books. Our library is hosting a weekly farmers market, as well. Just another reason to love the library!

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    1. Thanks and freaky. I love how you put it in pounds and not books LOL. Man, I wish ours had a farmer's market. Food and books. good combo.

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  2. I fell in love with the library during my last pregnancy (2002) I was bedridden with a blood clot for 6 months so I made a weekly stop at the library for BOOKS!!! When I went to the Dr appt I would stop in to get a new batch of treasures it saved my sanity. My 9 yr old loves the summer program she gets to attend every Tuesday through YMCA summer camp, loved the look on her face when she got her card priceless just like libraries!!

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    1. I'm glad you had the library during such a hard time. That would definitely help with the boredom during bed rest. I can't wait until mine can do the summer stuff. I hope she has fun.

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  3. Emily I think you deserve the Kreativ Blogger Award!!! Yep I love your blog and well I nominated you so go to my blog and get that award your blog is definitely creative :}

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    1. Thank you so much , Janice. It's my first award. Yipee!

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  4. Great reasons to love the library! I didn't realize STL had such a big genealogy section. I wonder if my grandma has searched anything there (she's a huge family researcher and has gone back hundreds of years - plus she lives in STL). I need to use our local libraries more but it's just of one of those things that's easy to skip over some days. Maybe this summer!

    Thanks for the comment... this is just part of the chaos in our house! The rest is in her room and slowly invading other rooms. I can't wait to tackle it next week and declutter!

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    1. Yes, it's a really neat place to go look up stuff. Ans she lives here? DO you ever come to visit?

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  5. We love the library! We go every Monday for toddler story time. Another wonderful way to use the library. I love your blog. I'm a new follower!

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  6. Couldn't agree more! I love the library. It is one of our most favorite places. It brings me great joy that my children get so excited perusing the shelves and finding new treasures.
    http://www.practicallyperfectprincess.com

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    1. It has always been important to me and I'm so glad it's important to my kids.

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  7. Hello! Stopping by from the Mommy-Brain Mixer at Two in Diapers. I love the library, and so do my kids. An early appreciation for books and reading is so important, don't you think? I'm loving your site, and following your on google+ :) I hope you'll come by jugglingactmama.blogspot after 4pm EST for my Kickin' it with Klout linky. Happy Thursday!

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  8. I just got home from the library! I adore it.

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  9. When we were in the US visiting family last month my baby visited the library with us almost daily. I love to read and have great memories of library visits with my mom as a kid. The local library in my hometown now has an early reading room for babies and toddlers filled with all sorts of learning toys and games. My 10month-old loved it, and so did I. Sure wish there were good and plentiful libraries here in Costa Rica. Thanks for linking up with the mommy brain mixer today, Emily!

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    1. Bummer but I'm glad you got to enjoy it while you were back home.

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  10. Yes! We LOVE the library! I'm so glad you linked up to the Mixer, friend, and I hope to see you again next week! :)

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