Today, we took Olivia to the library and she was able to obtain her very own library card.
Our library’s only requirement is that the person who gets the card is able to write their own name. Olivia can, and did. She did so well getting her letters in the tiny boxes. She also had to sign her name on the paperwork (bureaucracy starts early, eh?). Then the librarian gave her a felt tip marker pen and wanted her to sign the back of her (plastic) library card. She started writing a very LARGE “O”, so I tried to direct her so she wouldn’t obscure the bar code. That’s when the librarian said “She’s supposed to write it herself, but since I’ve seen her do it twice that’s okay.” As if he was giving us a break. I smiled as kindly as I could and just said “well, I was trying to keep your bar code scannable.”
I’m probably overreacting, but it seemed kind of anal on his part. She’s three. I mean, I’m sure he’s not used to three year olds filling out paperwork to get their own library cards, but we thought it was a reward for her learning how to read, her rite of passage. Plus, writing letters and numbers that aren’t as big as the page is a new thing for Olivia, and she’s still learning.
After she got her card, she gripped it tightly and said “No mama, I want to hold it, that’s okay” when I asked her if she wanted me to hold on to it while she searched for books (and yes, I did want to break down and sob about how my baby was growing up, but I held it together). We went to the Children’s Library wing and I almost fainted. It was bigger than my hometown library. It was glorious and I just let Olivia take the lead after asking the (very sweet) Children’s librarian where we could find the books for children who were just learning how to read. She pointed us in the right direction and then said “And all of our classic storybooks are under the big tree.” Sure enough, there was a huge tree in the middle of the wing where there were shelves full of all sorts of children’s literature.
I know it sounds incredibly hokey, but it was magical, I really don’t know how a child wouldn’t want to read after visiting the library. We looked around a bit, Olivia chose one of the only Dr. Seuss books we do not have (Fox in Socks) and then we wandered over to the big tree to see what we could find. After my suggestion, Olivia decided she wanted to read more Fancy Nancy books. I couldn’t remember the author, so I told her we could go and ask the librarian and she would be able to help us. So with her little hand in mine, we walked over to the librarian’s desk and I told her that she needed to ask, so she said (so sweetly):
“I’m trying to find Fancy Nancy books, please.”
*melt*
They were so helpful (at this point another librarian had shown up) and gave us the three they had on the shelf. The librarian was so excited that she had any available, because apparently they are very popular. I asked them how many books we could check out and they told us “50, but please don’t do that” and laughed. I told them that wouldn’t be a problem because, really? 50?? 50?? That’s a little ridiculous, no?
I asked Olivia how many she thought we should take home, and she said “I think five is a good number.” So we counted what we had (four) and I asked her how many more we needed to get.”ONE!” she answered. So our search continued and the librarians pointed us to the new release shelf, where we found one called Dinosaur vs. Bedtime that looked promising.
I took photos of the whole event. Her filling out the paperwork, getting her card, searching for books, finding them, etc. etc.
I’ve decided that it is going to be something for Olivia and I (or Olivia and Bill) to do weekly. Time will tell if Sophia will join us again, as she was crabby today, but we’re not sure if that is due to the close proximity to lunch/nap that our trip had or if she is just not as content looking at all the things the Children’s Library has to offer since she wasn’t given the free range that she is used to at home.
So, interwebs, I was wrong: I DO want her to visit the library as much as I did as a kid–I’ll just be sure she has enough books on her shelves to satisfy any longing or desires for her own books.
Balance. Balance is key.
Plus, it may be the only way to get her to pronounce library correctly. For now, we’ll visit the “Lie-Berry” and hope for better pronunciation in the future. She’s got enough going on in that gigantic brain of hers.