In Praise of Public Library Youth Services

As a lifelong reader/hoarder of books, and former employee of university bookstores, once the kids came along I went out and spent consistently on ... books. We never "needed" to go to the public library. And how on earth to keep track of library books in a house full of books? But, don't despair. At some point I did realize that the library was a great place we simply were never getting to, and turned it around. So, in praise of public library youth services... the wonderful, crazy people who know our kids' names, dress up as teapots and serve Valentine's tea parties every year, who run story times five times a week for little kids, and again for big kids, who run a homework clinic every school day and a reading program with giant party every summer, who photocopy your kid's story and give it a shelf mark so they can check it out, who forgive your fines nearly all the time, and who will happily spend an hour upstairs and down when you mention that your kid might be interested in books about (fill in the blank), but will spend the same hour if it's really just me doing homework for a story. You guys ROCK!