When I was little my mom would take us to the public library all the time.
Going to the library was one of my favorite things to do.
There was something exciting about knowing you could go look at the books and take as many of them home as you wanted.
And there was nothing better than sitting with a pile of books in a quiet corner and leisurely paging through them.
And smelling them.
I loved that.
So I really looked forward to going to the library with my kids.
That excitement lasted about 5 minutes into the first visit.
Taking multiple children under the age of 10 to the library is,
um,
not fun.
There should be a sign on the doors that says,
“CHILDREN, YOU MUST YELL AT THE TOP OF Y OUR LUNGS, AT ALL TIMES, UPON ENTERING THIS BUILDING.”
Because me telling them that they have to speak quietly while they are in there pretty much has the same effect.
When I go to the grocery store, people smile at me and my children.
They comment on how cute they are.
When I go to the library,
not so much.
Those librarians brace themselves against the racks of books.
They guard those suckers with their lives.
Because they know that my kids are on a mission to pull as many books off of those shelves as possible.
And nothing upsets a librarian like some out of order books.
Trying to keep those things in the right spot while children are allowed in the building is akin to this:
or this:
It appears that two of the requirements for being a librarian in the children’s department of the public library are
1) an extreme dislike of children
and
2) and extreme case of OCD.
So that really adds to the fun of a visit to the library.
But it is free.
When you return your books on time.
Or at all.
Which I have done,
um,
never.
Today is the perfect day to take Numbers 5, 6, and 7 to the library.
It’s cold.
And rainy.
But I already have over 20 dollars in late fees from the second to last round of books we checked out.
Add in the 2 overdue books that are sitting by the front door and the other 2 books that are completely missing, and our total is up to about 40 bucks.
So a free trip to the library,
on average,
costs me between 20 and 40 dollars.
Yeah.
Screw the library.
I think I’ll save myself the glares from the librarians,
and some money,
go to Target,
and buy my kids a new book.
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You are dead on about the librarians, if you don’t want a surplus of 2-5 year olds in the children’s area, don’t have story time for 2-5 year olds! The other day I was doing my best following to follow my son around, every time I was close to the librarians they had a look on their face that was part horror, disgust and pissiness. The poor teenage girl that was volunteering was truly scared. But I will say it was impressive to see how quickly tiny kids can fling books, puppets, legos and puzzles everywhere in about .7 secs!
I am always amazed that EVERYTIME I take my children to the library (which is at least once a week), the children’s librarians are scowling, complaining, or gossiping. If you do not like children, get another job!
Like.
Haha I definitely was one of those girls who loved to sit and SMELL the books! Glad I am not alone!
You SOOOO go to the wrong libraries! Ours is small, full of laughter, and you can renew your books online, saving the embarrassment of not being able to find the book on the day it s due. Save your $$$$, find a friendlier library…Ive heard countless authors, including Lisa Scottolini and Adrianna Triagani( you figured being Italian I could spell the names right…nope!), speak at library conferences saying what an influence going to the library was on them! And my mom dragged us…and I still love it over a bookstore! (Ok, b&n has Starbucks, but still…)
yeah the one by my house has a seperate childrens area (as in completely seperate from the adult area) and it has a sign that basically says “there’s noise in this area” The librarians also are ok (they also have seperate librarians for the kids area)…they talk to my chatterbox of a son about DS games.
The one library actually has field trips for schools to learn about the library…complete with a puppet show. (and you reminded me that i now have 3 overdue library books….I should probably return those)
At the library I work at, there’s a nice children’s librarian. She had an assistant who was like, Mrs.Claus. Seriously, she was like the dictionary definition of a Grandma. She was the PERFECT children’s librarian. But she retired this year, and her replacement, eh, she’s okay. But I saw her scowling and telling some kids to stop running. I was all… Psh, no running, like that’s going to happen. Mrs.Claus wouldn’t have done that.
Thanks for posting this. I know I’m not the only one that fails to return books on time… but every single time? Yes, that would be me. I just paid about $200 in late and lost-book fees a few weeks ago (only because the little one had a field trip to the library and I was too embarrassed to allow her to go and not let her check anything out). I’m actually in the process of getting four of my five kids to the library today, to return books and get them new ones to start the summer off right (today is the first day of summer break–yet it’s raining out…). Brace yourselves, librarians…