Children's Library

About the Division

The Children's Library serves children from birth through age 12, their families, and teachers. The Children's Library at Main measures approximately 12,000 square feet, similar to the size of our branches. Our collection includes board books, picture books, beginning readers, nonfiction, magazines, audio, and foreign language materials. Our DVD and audio collections are aimed at the Early Childhood group and for children up to age 8. We do not carry feature films. Those are shelved in Culture & AV. We also have computers that have built-in games for young children and public-use computers with Internet access.

The Children's Library also provides services specifically aimed at educators. Our Resources for Early Childhood Educators (RECE) Lab is in one half of our program rooms. The RECE Lab houses equipment for educators, early childhood caregivers and homeschoolers, including 2 laminators, a binder, and three Ellison die-cut machines. Orientations and trainings in the RECE Lab are conducted by the Public Service Assistant and the Early Childhood Specialist. Another service for teachers is our Books in Boxes program. The Children's Library provides Books in Boxes sets for elementary school teachers. These are 35 copies of one title in a box. They can be booked ahead of time through the Children's Library and picked up at Main or at a branch.

The Children's Library conducts a host of programs for the public, including preschool story times, our monthly Paws for Reading with certified therapy dogs, a monthly play time, afterschool activities, special Saturday events, and tours of the department.