Vacation Library

Posted August 13, 2015 by Alison Mitchell

My family is on vacation, somewhere we go every summer, and when we’re here, we (of course) frequent the fabulous local public library.  My kids love the children’s room — in addition to a great collection and lots of cozy places to read, it has a corner with a bookcase of board games, another corner with a bin of dress up clothes, and innovative programming.  I love the friendly staff and collection that’s just different enough from our library at home to be interesting.

I find it pretty hilarious to see how our borrowing changes while on vacation.   The other day, my  kids wanted a movie, and I said yes (at home, I definitely would have said no to Shrek the Halls in August).  Last summer, I ended up checking out practically an entire shelf of DIY books, somehow inspired by being away from home (my talents run more to knitting and sewing — DIY never works out that well for me).   We also get many books from the “local interest” section, something we don’t do at home (how many books are there about Somerville, anyway?). 

I actively fantasize about working here (indeed, I saw a job posting over the winter for this very library and was sorely tempted).  What would it be like to work somewhere with a small local population in the winter, and an enormous tourist population in the summer?  How does a library structure programming for those very different groups of people?  What would my husband do if we lived here?  Would the kids like the local school? 

But for now, we’re just summer people, visiting the local library and going to the beach and putting off thoughts of fall.