My son has recently become fascinated by pirates and their big boats. He asked me to pick up books for us to read before bed. Like most would do in this situation, I browsed on Amazon for books on pirates. Yet, my searches were not fruitful; I only found a few books but could not look through them online. I told my little one I was having trouble finding books and he looked at me and said, “Daddy, let’s go to the library and see what we can find.” I was shocked and thrilled. So off to the library we went.
On our way over, I asked my son why he suggested the library. He proudly declared that he loves library time at school because he is encouraged to look at the shelves and explore.
At the local library, to my amazement, we found dozens of books on the shelves about pirates and old boats. A children’s librarian who was familiar with my son’s request made many suggestions, and even offered to show him a children’s DVD on pirates that the library had on hand and was happy to screen it in a special cozy viewing room.
We spent the entire morning at the library and had an incredible time learning and exploring books in a physical space. After looking through close to 40 books on pirates and boats, my son moved around the almost 20 aisles of children’s books. He looked through books about space and planets, cooking, and life in India and various Hindu holidays. He had complete freedom to explore and ask questions. He pulled books off the shelves and devoured the various images and text with me. When he found a book with familiar material, he wanted to share ideas and information that he knew with me and beamed with pride explaining, for example, how space travel changed over time. We checked out a few books and he asked if we could return the next day and pick up some new books. My answer, happily, was “Of course.”
On our way home, I asked him if he preferred learning new things on the iPad or looking through books. Without a moment of hesitation, he said that he loves books. He explained that he liked seeing videos of sea creatures or rockets taking off, but he liked not having to wait for the screen to load and loved being able to look at any of the books he wanted by himself and learn from the text and the pictures. He shared that he likes the iPad for the plane, but would rather come to the library and look at the books. Seeing his eyes light up in the stacks and the excitement of finding so many books confirmed that statement.
Schools, parents, and various communities around the country are reckoning with screens in school and at home and the dangers of social media and digital devices. In this landscape, parents must remember the value of public libraries. Libraries are places for their children to regularly visit and can learn and engage with new content without screens and handheld devices. Regrettably, however, library visits are not commonplace for most Americans as more turn to digital devices. We often overlook that these wonderful institutions already exist nationwide which regularly provide stimulating and safe places for our youngest to learn to love to read, imagine, and explore, often with other children and educators. As such, I want to encourage that we all give libraries another serious look and encourage children to visit.
There will be a time when children must connect with the digital world. But, if we can bring younger children into libraries where they can learn to develop literacy skills without screens—we are doing them a service in the long run. I recognize that some libraries have placed themselves at the center of culture war flashpoints, and this has changed the inclusiveness and openness of these spaces for some. But, in these cases, parents and caregivers can help their children learn in a safe environment by making sure that they approve of the library itself. If a library is too political with reading time or celebrating holidays, visit a different library and demand change at the problematic branch. These are public institutions and subject to communal norms, after all.
So this summer, I want to say to parents and caregivers of young children—“get thee to a library.” In the spirit of Shakespeare’s Hamlet where Ophelia is told to visit a nunnery, for it is best for her, and that is a debatable statement in the play, I can say that there is nothing questionable here: Visiting libraries is something young children should do and do often; this is a great alternative to screen time.
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