Kensal Rise Children's Library, London

We wanted to devote part of our #ReadItMD13 (Read It Mummies and Daddies 2013) campaign to libraries and it's a spooky coincidence that scheduling things for this week coincided with a fairly high profile argument AGAINST libraries spread across the media. I'd rather like this post to be a celebration of libraries rather than yet another rant against Terry Deary's irresponsible and just plain selfish opinion that they're "Outdated, of no use any more" by pointing out once again, quite simply, that this blog would not exist without Abingdon Library, our 'Local'.

Before we had Charlotte we used to drop in from time to time for books for ourselves, and we'd often meet friends with their children. It seemed like a brilliant family activity, spending a while in the library trawling through the interesting book stacks, watching their excellent fish tank for a while, and doing some colouring and scribbling. We always had it in mind to join Charlotte up as soon as we could and luckily we were reminded when we went to register her after her birth that we could do so pretty much straight away.

Abingdon Library, like most libraries, is a place that people don't just visit for the books and though Mr Deary probably thinks that it's the domain of the old-fashioned stereotypical book hoarder, the children's section at Abingdon Library is always very busy and heavily used.

We used to drop in for Song Group, a nursery rhyme time for children and at times it was (to shoehorn in a well-loved book title) a squash and a squeeze but always very enthusiastically embraced by parents who could let their kids be loud and noisy, singing or shaking / bashing things along with well loved nursery rhymes.

It became a weekly social thing for a lot of parents in the same boat as me, lucky enough to be able to spend a day a week with their children doing something interesting and engaging. We'd grab a stack of books, settle down for rhymetime and then head home to dive into our newly acquired treasure trove. Back then I hadn't really had much of a clue about children's books, other than the vague memories of stuff I loved when I was a kid and when my younger sibs were wee ones so it was great to discover that most of those old classics and their authors were still around and still as well loved as ever.

The idea for the blog came a while later when The Strolling Mum and I decided we'd like to try and keep a record of what Charlotte had read to her, so we didn't continually get the same books from the library and so we could set something up (hopefully) for other parents to dip into.

As I've said before on  Twitter, we're not uber-rich, and can't always afford to buy brand new books for Charlotte so the library, and its frequently updated and well-stocked children's section was brilliant and still is today and is somewhere we'll always support and visit as much as we can.

Now Charlotte has started school it's difficult to drop in as regularly as we'd like but we still make the effort, again because it's the best way of discovering new books and unfamiliar authors we'd otherwise miss. It's always brilliant to find something in the library stacks that other booky folk have recommended, or things you'd missed by an author you'd been tweeting at the previous day.

With funding being cut left right and centre, and the recent move by the government to try and stifle libraries in schools, your local library is more important than ever. As cultural centres are slowly removed from the plans and demographics of modern towns, it just seems crazy not to use something that's provided for free, and can turn into a regular outing akin to going on a treasure hunt. There's always something new or interesting to find in our local library and I'm sure yours is the same too. Just dive in and find out!

(From 'The Mummy' starring Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz)

Evelyn: Look, I... I may not be an explorer, or an adventurer, or a treasure-seeker, or a gunfighter, Mr. O'Connell, but I am proud of what I am. 

Rick: And what is that? 

Evelyn: I... am a librarian. 


Forgive the horribly cheesy quote, but we're very proud of our local library and we are extremely fortunate in Abingdon to have such a brilliant one. As soon as we could after she was born, we signed Charlotte up and she got her own library card and access to a gigantic collection of fabulous books as well as 'Rhymetime', a fun nursery rhyme session for parents and younger children and a great sticker and certificate scheme when she borrowed any books.

As time has progressed, and since Charlotte started school we've struggled to find the time to drop in as much as we used to but we still do. This blog wouldn't exist without Abingdon Library and their brilliant (and constantly updated / up to date) book collection - we buy books, we are kindly sent books for review but the majority of our content comes from those well stocked and wonderfully maintained shelves.

To me, libraries have always been exciting places full of inspiration and possibilities and I feel lucky to have grown up having access to great libraries in every locale I've lived in. Parents aren't always aware that their babies can join the library from birth, and they can borrow a whole stack of books every week for children (not grown up books, obviously) without having to pay a fine if they're late (though it's polite not to have to be badgered by the library to bring them back if you've kept them for a couple of years or so!) Not just books, there are DVDs, CDs, Audio Books and other things to find in there with activities and events happening throughout the year.

Libraries are under threat nationally, and are closing down left right and centre as funding is pared to the bare minimum or cut completely. Volunteers are stepping into the breach where possible but obviously the more people who use their local libraries and the more footfall they get, the better.

As part of the #readitmummiesanddaddies2013 pledge, we aim to use our library more - finding the time in a fairly hectic schedule to keep on visiting, keep on perusing their brilliant book stacks and also finding out when they run their events and readings, twittering our heads off as much as possible about these.

Please don't let libraries end up like they do in John Christopher's chilling dystopian book "The Guardians" (which eerily predicted the rise and rise of ebooks and the fall of interest in reading). Support your local library!

After a couple of weeks absence from visiting Abingdon Library, Charlotte and I were amazed to find the whole place completely changed the last time we visited. 

Abingdon Library has now gone 'Self Service" for loans and book returns and the setup is most impressive, particularly for youngsters who get their own fantastic machine to handle the processes previously undertaken by the excellent staff (rest assured though, hopefully this doesn't mean the lovely people there will be disappearing any time soon). 

For children's book returns, a touch-screen display (complete with Rainforest or Underwater themes) allows parents (or button-pressing busy girls like Charlotte) to stack their books on the reader plate. A few simple on-screen prompts take you through the entire process. All books are automatically scanned back in (that bit was fantastic and most impressive!) and then books are stacked to the left of the display, ready for dropping back onto shelves. 

Checking books back out again does the whole thing in reverse. Your library card / barcode is scanned by a laser scanner first, then you stack your books up as before, the system reads all the chips inside, and they're booked out against your card. A printed receipt is issued as a reminder for when they need to be back. 

Guided through the process by the ever-helpful staff, we can't wait to use it again. (BTW a quick hello to them if they find their way here, as I did drop a few hints about the blog while I was in there - Well, you never know!)

Charlotte's best bit - The noises the rainforest theme checkin makes

Daddy's favourite bit - The fantastic auto-scanning-book-stack thing. 

ReadItDaddy is firstly and foremostly a children's book review website but from time to time I'll be covering book-related news. 

The issue of the government's plans to close down a huge number of local libraries is a shockingly ill-informed decision. Our local library may end up being one of the affected, and without that library this blog most definitely wouldn't exist. 

An action day is taking place across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on Saturday 5th February 2011. The nation's book lovers are encouraged to show their support for their local library by using it on this day. Show the government that this valuable resource should not merely be swept under the carpet or put out to seed in the vain hope that enough kindly volunteers will step in and run library services. The plan is ill conceived and ridiculous in the extreme, and libraries already struggling to maintain a service will be forced to close as a result of this policy. 

Oxfordshire library users will be treated to a passionate speech or three on the matter by bestselling Oxford-based author Phillip Pullman, the genius behind the 'His Dark Materials' books. Pullman is currently raising the profile of the campaign to halt the government's ridiculous plans to sever library services. 

Stand up for your local library. Get bookish on saturday.

Our local Library (the Malthouse Library in Abingdon, Oxfordshire) has been a favourite haunt of ours for a few years now, even before Charlotte was born. Spread across two floors, the majority of the ground floor is taken up by a massive children's section going from baby books right through to teenage stuff. 

Thankfully there are hundreds of toddler books to choose from and so far we've managed to avoid being stuck for something to read. 

The library's staff are always friendly and helpful, and on wednesdays (which I fortunately get to spend with Charlotte) they run a couple of nursery rhyme singing groups, dishing out noisy instruments so that babies and toddlers can sing along and join in making a glorious racket. 

The library also has a pretty huge fish tank (with very few fish left in it, alas) and plenty of comfortable seating and toys to keep little ones occupied. 

We're extremely lucky to have such a valuable resource so close to home. 

Site Link: Abingdon Library