(no subject)

[rivka]

My love affair with the Enoch Pratt Free Library continues.

Ever since we moved downtown, I've felt privileged to live within walking distance of the main branch of the public library. Most of my life, I've used small town or suburban libraries with limited collections and limited space - libraries which, by necessity, cull older and less popular books on a regular basis. The main branch, on the other hand, seems to have unlimited amounts of storage space underground. When I was working my way through Trollope's Palliser novels, the librarian brought me up a 1910 edition of The Eustace Diamonds which hadn't been checked out in twenty years. And when I went on a Georgette Heyer binge - something I'd wanted to do for years, but was held back by libraries containing only one or two Heyers, always in large print - the fiction librarian trotted out every single one of them for me, from deep in the bowels of the basement. Cheerfully.

Now, on Friday mornings, we go to story hour for non-walkers. I discovered, in a news article about the program, that we are far from their target demographic - the program was designed to increase the likelihood that kids will be ready for kindergarten at age five by addressing gaps in basic social development:

The Mother Goose on the Loose program offers children and parents training in such simple but fundamental tasks as sitting still, repeating mnemonic sounds, and recognizing word and melody patterns. The program is open to children from birth to 4 years old. [...]

The National Center for Education Statistics “asked kindergarten teachers what skills were most needed for school readiness,” says Betsy Diamant-Cohen, creator of the Mother Goose on the Loose program. “In the bottom 24 percent was knowing your ABCs, 123s, colors, and shapes. [At the top were] knowing how to regulate yourself, knowing how to sit and listen, paying attention, responding to a person giving directions, following directions, responding to a teacherlike figure, relating to other children, being empathetic, being able to express emotions in a positive way, feeling self-confident and capable. Once the Pratt found those statistics, we were able to make the push on early literacy.”

But even though we're not part of the population who needs the service, the children's librarian seems to be delighted to see us every week. She remembers Alex's name and cheerfully accepts her tendency (which, admittedly, is not uncommon among story hour participants) to put everything in her mouth.

I went to the library after work last night. I got some good books for myself, including an anthology of travel writing by women called No Place For a Lady and an account of a modern tall-ship circumnavigation. I watched the fiction librarian speak kindly and respectfully with an inarticulate young woman who had two teen romances in her hand and was asking (without providing greater specifics) for books that were "more adult." And, in the children's department, an eager librarian helped me find some books for Alex which capitalize on her current enjoyment of strong rhyme schemes, while not requiring her to be able to follow a plot.

More and more, the library is a big part of the reason why I want to stay in our current neighborhood when we buy a house.

Comments

[richtermom.livejournal.com]

Our central library is my favorite building in the world. Here's (http://www.mpl.org/File/libraryhistory.htm)a very small picture of the outside and its history, but entering the three-story domed entrance just makes me want to do ballet. The building itself is fabulous. Even the weird remodeling they did of much of the space making it look like a derivative Barnes and Nobel can't detract from the huge stairs and the wealth of cool stuff. Census microfilm. Local directories all the way back. Maps showing that a streetcar or bus has ALWAYS run past my house, since before my house was here. (100 years for the streetcar, 96ish for the house.) And the kids' room... I need to bring the girl there now that she can appreciate running around and climbing and seeing the words on the wall.

When she was just a couple months old, I brought her in while I was doing some research. It just was very important to show her this place. The books. The history. The architecture. This is a good place. I even remember looking forward to showing it to her before she was born.

Our neighborhood library is nice and adequate. Good staff, usually you can get a computer when you need one. I grew up with a different branch library and spent my whole summer there before fifth grade, just consuming books and basking in the air conditioning. Even Sheboygan's Mead library has a soft spot in my heart.

But the Central Library is my decadent, beloved sanctuary.

[kcobweb.livejournal.com]

The main branch, on the other hand, seems to have unlimited amounts of storage space underground.

When I lived in Boston, I loved the BPL for the same reason - you never knew what old out-of-print obscure stuff would be just sitting out on the shelves.

(Whereas my library here?? ...oh, don't even get me started. This library has a fondness for *not* buying Book 1 in a trilogy, but buying books 2 and 3. Sometimes in multiple copies. Um, hello?)

Story hour for non-walkers

[(Anonymous)]

Actually, unlike other programs mentioned in the article,(which do seem to be solely addressing the needs of pre-schoolers lacking in basic social and readiness skills) your library program sounds like it is there to generally enrich, teach, and stimulate all babies.

Unless I missed something in the write-up, you and Alex are exactly what the library is looking for: a parent and child who enjoy special time together in a group that promotes reading, literacy, and social skills.

I think it's very clever/proactive that the founders of the program have structured their particular storytime around the skills that will help Alex be most ready for school when the time comes- all while she's having fun with mom!

I'm glad you are sharing your love of the library with Alex from the very beginning, and thought I detected just a twinge of guilt when you wrote that you are not part of the population that "needs" the service. (I believe that everyone's baby needs this great program- I wish we had one!)

[fourgates.livejournal.com]

From the Mt. Vernon description: ...Prices range from $25,000 to $250,000 I don't think that has been updated for a while.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Hey, I bet you could still get a cardboard box in a Mount Vernon alley for $25,000.

[melebeth]

Yay! geogette heyer binges! This non-substantive comment brought to you by my dog who is holding my right hand hostage with claw and tongue.

[jerusha.livejournal.com]

That library sounds terribly cool. Still, I'm pretty happy with what I have - a small suburban library, which is in-system with a whole bunch of other suburban libraries, some of which are much larger and better-supplied with materials than mine, online access to the system catalog and to make in-system ILL requests, and access to anything in the statewide catalog (which includes academic and university libraries, as well as the big municipal publics) just by walking up to the reference desk and declaring, "I want!".

And they all know my name, and check my holds out for me when they see me coming in the door. And I don't even have an (adorable!) infant to make me memorable...