This morning Nathan and I took the babies to the grand opening ceremony for our new neighborhood public library, the North Village branch of the Austin Public Library.
The library has created some fantastic space for our community there, and we’ll definitely be back. There’s a great kids’ section, with plenty of open space. There’re plenty of computers, comfy chairs and tables, and some lovely whimsical glass artwork by artist Kathleen Ash, who spoke at the dedication ceremony this morning. There was even rumored to be coffee for sale somewhere in the library, which I missed in the general chaos of grand opening morning.
The new building is also green, with solar panels on the roof, an impressive water collection system, and native plantings around the perimeter of the building.
We walked to the library this morning, but I don’t think that’s going to be a safe way for me to get there by myself with the babies during the day. Burnet Road is too busy and pedestrian-unfriendly, and there’s no way to avoid crossing it to get to the library from our house.
Our first selections from the new North Village Library? Three picture books for Ben: one on firetrucks, and two on penguins, which he’s become very interested in after seeing part of Happy Feet at my parents’ house. I checked the books out one of the library’s fancy new self-checkout stations. The books are due back in three weeks.