I remember the days when I was a school kid in India, the first library that I was introduced to was our school library. We were allowed to borrow 1 book per week. Outside of school if we wanted to read, there were scarcely any libraries. If there luckily happened to be one, it would carry only story books and novels. Needless to say these were privately owned libraries, had monthly fees and lots of restrictions on borrowing.
Here in the US, access to knowledge comes without much hassle. From a small baby to an adult, anyone can walk in to their community library and lay hands on whatever interests them. Apart from being a place to "borrow resources", these libraries are engaged in conducting numerous art, math, science, entertainment etc activities and events on a daily basis.
One such library I have previlege to go to is the San Jose Public Library. It has multiple locations throughout San Jose. For past 3-4 months I and my kids have enjoyed some quality programs here. Hansel and Gretel performance by Opera San Jose, Juggling show, Happy bird show, puppet making, scrap art making, astronomy, insects are few of the events that we have attended at the library. After each of these activities when I ask my kids if they enjoyed it, they show me a thumbs-up and I realize that happiness comes in small packets...
