As usual yesterday (Saturday) was my day to visit my local library. I had to return two books and needed an updated book on resume writing. I am writing a resume for a web designer and needed ideas on what one should look like. The web designer has been self employed for over 20 years and honestly I have no idea how to write a resume for someone who really does not need one. He is trying to get on a local board and was asked for his resume.
The library parking lot was packed. I got one of only two spaces left. I thought something may be going on as I had never seen the lot this full. Was there a book sale I was unaware of? Did the library host an author lecture? What was going on that would explain a packed house?
The answer was clear as I walked in; there were excited children running around and frantic parents trying to round them up. Apparently I had just missed the Children’s Story Hour. Each Saturday the library hosts a reading in the children’s section. The library offers this as a way to instill a love of books in young kids. It would seem this works judging by the attendance and the scene of children leaving the library with stacks of books in their hands. The library allows children to borrow up to ten picture books at a time and from what I saw, most of the children left with the allowable number of books. It made me smile as eager eager children chatted about going home to read. As I stood and watched a question occurred to me, could an e-readers generate this much excitement in a child?
This week in the news the buzz about libraries going digital is a hot topic. Right now libraries across the country are digitalizing their reference section. This is something I have talked about in a previous post, yet the subject came up again as some news articles are suggesting that soon libraries may be digitalizing more than just research material. As more and more people are using e-readers libraries may start to offer e-books rather than print books. This will save money and space, at least according to what I read this week. Once again the question comes up “will e-books replace print books?” I say NO! Not as long as there are children eager to attend story hour and then hunt for books to take home and parents who encourage this. The love of print books start at an early age, and even as we move into the digital age today’s children are still taught to love the printed word.
The View From Sari's World 
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