Navigating a small, local library and the mass amt of twaddle…

My children love going to the library. I am thankful that we have a nice interloan option throughout the county, but even then, it seems they are lacking in a lot of good, quality literature. I can find some of what I am looking for, but it’s really hit or miss. I “order” what I need and within a week they are ready for pickup – easy enough! We live between two branches, so I usually send things to the smaller one b/c the bigger one is a bit much to navigate – the parking lot is poorly designed for walking through with children, the main area is up a large set of stairs, etc. I like the small, quiet, friendly atmosphere. Unfortunately, most of what they have readily available is twaddle – the first bookcase you get to is all Disney/Lego/Marvel and that’s where my 3 and 5 year olds are drawn. My friend made a good point when she said that they lack a lot of the “classics” yet have a whole shelf just for Spongebob. Priorities. Ugh. How do you steer them in the right direction with all the “flashy” books distracting them along the way? They have picked out some doozies, let me tell you. I don’t know how anyone thinks that those books are appropriate literature for children. It makes me sad knowing there are infinitely better options out there. I want to scream “twaddle free” from the rooftops! I want so much to start my own small library, but that is a hugely daunting thought because I have yet to figure this all out for myself.

The local branch has moved all the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew books to a back room because they needed to make room for new items, but didn’t have the heart to get rid of them – we found this out when my 9 year old was searching for them on the shelves. They informed me (with regret in their voices) that they “retired” the Boxcar Children series and had them for sale – I bought all the ones we didn’t have (only now finding out that the ones past #19 are not really a part of the true series… live and learn I guess). I told them that if they ever decided to retire HB or ND to please hold them for me, I would buy them. It might not be true living books, but I don’t think there are many current titles that could take their place.

My older ones are easier to steer in the right direction, it’s the younger ones that want the junk, and of course they are harder to sway.

(Slight side note, kind of related: we did a co-op one semester years ago and my little ones were in a FIAR class for K-2 where the parents each took turns choosing a book from any of the FIAR manuals then organize a simple craft and snack to go with it – it started out nice, good books, creative crafts and snacks. Then the moms started complaining that the books were too long, too boring, the pictures were drab, etc. and started bringing ones they deemed “better” – there was one, I have can’t remember the title or what it was about, but I cringed with every page and had a strong urge to walk out.  🙁 I guess libraries are like grocery stores in a way – we have to vote with out dollar for what foods we want them to carry, at the library we have to vote with our card… I guess we are in the minority for the things we are wanting and actively seeking out).