Monday, January 31, 2011

Check This Out...at the Library

My article for Mom Offers More February 2011:

February is a busy month, celebrating presidents’ birthdays, African American history, heart health, and of course, Valentine’s day.  These holidays and events are a great way to enrich your child’s knowledge. What better place to do it than the library?   
           The Westchester Library System is an invaluable resource.  I take my kids to the library once a week where they can participate in a class, use the computer, play with toys, go to family movie night, participate in book clubs, read, and so much more.  We check out bags of books, CD’s, DVD’s, toys, and audio books, sometimes too many things to carry!  The constant rotation of materials keeps it fresh for the kids and keeps it economical for me, since it’s all free. Most librarians make a holiday display so your child can easily browse for that perfect Valentine’s Day book.
            I also love that the internet makes using the library so much easier.  Before I go to the library, I will search the library’s catalog for books of interest and find out if the book is available for checkout. This allows me to quickly find the books when we get there so my kids can explore other books.  I can keep track of my checkouts on line, do advanced searches, place a hold on a book, use inter-library loan and pick up materials at my library of choice.  From the library websites I can view their calendar of events, access their educational programs, internet games, and find recommended reading, to name a few.  One of my personal favorites is Tumble Books Online that you can access from many of the websites.   The resources are endless. ‘Check out’ these library’s websites:
  • Yorktownlibrary.org
  • Henhudfreelibrary.org
  • Crotonfreelibrary.org
  • Peekskill.org
  • Ossininglibrary.org 
  • Briarcliffmanorlibrary.org

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