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And now, the final post for the Library-Lovin’ Blog challenge<\/a>, from my good friend Emily! \u00a0She told me recently about how much she loves Sylvester, the librarian at Louisville’s Eline Library, and I thought, “She must do a guest post for me!” \u00a0Thankfully, she has ceded to my command, and now you get to hear this sweet story.<\/p>\n Also thankfully, you readers have raised at least $40 for the library with your comments this week! \u00a0Think you can get it to $50? \u00a0Do I hear $55? \u00a0Comment away, me hardies, and thanks for visiting!<\/p>\n And now for Emily’s post (ooh! Like Emily Post!)<\/em><\/p>\n When I was a little girl, my family used to go to Cape Cod for two weeks<\/p>\n Not Emily's actual toddler, but look! Cute toddler!<\/p><\/div>\n When I was pregnant with my first child, I knew I\u00a0wanted the library to be special to him as well. As soon as the doctor gave me the go ahead to take him out in public, and as soon as I got over my fear of driving with him\u00a0in the car, we went to the library. Now he\u2019s a sturdy toddler, and I can no longer carry him into the library. He must walk, thank you very much. The entrance to our particular library is a long hallway, with the children\u2019s section on the right, the adult section on the left, and panes of glass dividing the hallway from the books. Every single time we go, my son gets so excited to see the books (\u201cStory!\u201d he says. \u201cStory!\u201d) that he presses up against the glass. He\u2019s so eager to get to the books that he cannot fathom he has to walk down the hall and around the glass. Instead, he bangs on the glass in frustration. He can see the books! Why can he not get to them?<\/p>\n But what makes the library really special is the librarians. First of all, they greet my son by name. Second of all, when he pulls many books off the shelf in his sheer joy at being surrounded by stories, they manage to hide their exasperation really, really well. And finally, when he cries in despair at having to leave, turning bright red and wailing as loudly as he can (which very loudly, in case you were wondering), they smile and make clucking noises and tell him they\u2019ll see him soon.<\/p>\n The Ur-Sylvester. Am I right?<\/p><\/div>\n And if that doesn’t work, we see Sylvester. \u00a0Sylvester is my son’s favorite\u00a0librarian, and mine too, I admit. Partially because his name is Sylvester, which is awesome, but mostly because he\u2019s a very nice man. The last time we were at the library, my son had a fit because I wouldn\u2019t let him bang on a computer keyboard. Red-faced, tears streaming down his cheeks\u2026he was pathetic. All the little old ladies there looked very concerned. So I took him to the check-out desk, and there was Sylvester.<\/p>\n \u201cHi, Evan,\u201d he said cheerfully.<\/p>\n The screaming stopped, and Evan eyed him.<\/p>\n \u201cTough day today, huh?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n Sniffles from Evan.<\/p>\n \u201cHere are your books!\u201d he said, and handed them to me.<\/p>\n A tiny voice piped up. \u201cThank you. Bye bye, Sylv.\u201d<\/p>\n I kind of want to take Sylvester home with me and have him hand me books every time a tantrum occurs, but I think I\u2019ll have to stick with regular visits to the library.<\/p>\n Again–leave a comment below, or here<\/a>, here<\/a>, or here<\/a>, and Jess will donate $1 so librarians like Sylvester can have consistent hours and help kids like Evan and moms like Emily. <\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/fitbottomedgirls.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/06\/RingPopcherry-300x300.jpg\")
every\u00a0summer, and the local library was within walking distance. I\u2019d roll my little red wagon there, and the librarians greeted me each year with a \u201cWelcome back!\u201d I\u2019d fill the wagon with books, and on the way home we\u2019d stop for blue raspberry slushies and possibly, if my mother was in a very good mood, a Ring Pop. So libraries fill me with warm, fuzzy feelings, and also a desire for slushies.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.bridges4kids.org\/images\/toddler-flowers.jpg\")
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