Library Love

Like many of the wonderful people who work for the Mercer County Library System, I was a patron before I became an employee. I enjoyed a multitude of books and movies the library had to offer its residents. When I was being driven crazy in my house with three babies under the age of four, the library became a sanctuary of sorts and even a place to meet other moms in the same situation as myself. Baby time classes and story times for kids were regularly and religiously attended by me and my brood. The stories that were read to my babies made their imaginations flourish and gave me a much needed "mommy break." They did puzzles, shook maracas, dressed up as super heroes on Halloween, and developed a love of books. The crafts offered as part of story time were great for my children's imaginations because who says a horse can't be purple and turtles can't be rainbow colored? The best part was that I did not have a gluey, glittery mess on the table at MY house to clean up! We all enjoyed doing fun crafts at the library and then we would take our finished projects and enjoy the rest of the day.

When the kids were a little older and pre-teen projects like "Tie Dye a T-Shirt" were offered at the library, I jumped at the chance at doing something with my kids that I would NEVER do at home due to its "mess factor." The shirts were rubber banded, dyed, and hung out to dry at the library. How cool and convenient! I got so inspired that I tried to tie dye a shirt at home for myself. Let's just say that a lot more got permanently dyed than just the shirt.

Fast forward to today and I still have three sets of the mosaic flower pots my children created for Mother's Day one year and three personalized coffee mugs made a few years ago for Father's Day. These are just a few of the lasting memories of wonderful projects that were FREE at the library.

Working at the library gives me even more of an appreciation of all that we have to offer. The library is still a sanctuary for stay-at-home moms who need social interaction with other adults. I see parents staying long after the children's programs are over just so that they can socialize a bit. There are people who come and sort through coupons and sit and chat for hours with others. In the summertime, the library is an air conditioned haven to cool off in and take a break from the heat. Some patrons like to come into the library and relax by watching movies or listening to music on the public computers. Other people peruse magazines and newspapers at the library as part of their daily routine. Tutoring programs at the library offer much needed assistance to children throughout the year. Free ESL classes at the library are the backbone of the community because they are a necessary resource. Résumé assistance is something that people generally do not realize is available at the library. I could go on and on about all that the Mercer County Library System has to offer. The bottom line is that we are not just a library in the traditional sense. We have become an entity that grows with the patrons. We expand our services as the need grows around us in the community.

Although I still value all the past projects my children have created throughout the years at the library, I now see them create their résumés and use other resources that our libraries offer as they enter college and hopefully the work force. I hope that, one day, they visit our library as retirees, possibly clipping coupons and chatting about how they tie-dyed t-shirts here when they were young.

—Kaneeze H.