...and she had no idea what to do with it. On top of that, she and her husband moved to a new location, where she had a hard time meeting new people apart from the same rounds of grandmas she saw at the market (ie, she couldn't make new friends).
ENTER THE LIBRARY.
As it turns out, there was a program for young mothers at her public library! My cousin quickly made friends with others in the group and proceeded to 1) receive guidance from an experienced mom, 2) share information/baby complaints/baby brags with her peers, and 3) rock the hell out of motherhood.
My cousin had never stepped into a US library before this baby shindig. Now, she's one of the few relatives that don't stare at me with suspicious eyes when I tell them about my Masters program.
What's my point? A library is not just books, not just texts or information --> it's a means of sharing and facilitating knowledge between all of the library patrons, librarians, and (gasp!) non-library users. A lot of the lure of public libraries for me is that they seem to be/should be/could be centers of community engagement and connection.
And I think that part of our job (our new job?) as librarians is to revamp the type of knowledge that people associate with "libraries," to break assumptions that people hold about both libraries and us librarians. This is one way to bring more patrons over to our side, our community, and change the statistics of Dave's Chart of Library User Life and Death.
ENTER THE LIBRARY.
As it turns out, there was a program for young mothers at her public library! My cousin quickly made friends with others in the group and proceeded to 1) receive guidance from an experienced mom, 2) share information/baby complaints/baby brags with her peers, and 3) rock the hell out of motherhood.
My cousin had never stepped into a US library before this baby shindig. Now, she's one of the few relatives that don't stare at me with suspicious eyes when I tell them about my Masters program.
What's my point? A library is not just books, not just texts or information --> it's a means of sharing and facilitating knowledge between all of the library patrons, librarians, and (gasp!) non-library users. A lot of the lure of public libraries for me is that they seem to be/should be/could be centers of community engagement and connection.
And I think that part of our job (our new job?) as librarians is to revamp the type of knowledge that people associate with "libraries," to break assumptions that people hold about both libraries and us librarians. This is one way to bring more patrons over to our side, our community, and change the statistics of Dave's Chart of Library User Life and Death.
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| Our side: we have knowledge and Dark Lords. (Source) |
I know lots of moms who love libraries and use them more than they did before becoming moms. My sister-in-law just sent adorable photos (her children are of above-average amazingness, in my auntly opinion) of Tom, Jake, and Jesse with their Lego creations: they go to Lego Club at the Sunbury, Ohio library (http://community.lib.oh.us/). My sister takes her [also amazing and alarmingly cute] 5-year-old to the library every week. Since he adores it and its free and an educational place, she's adores it, too.
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