Last week I got a text from my friend, asking if I had been to the new library yet.

I had not been…I didn’t even know there was a library being built near me. This was super exciting to hear because Leopold and I love to read. We used to go to story time every Tuesday until we moved, and the library that is only 5 minutes from my house isn’t in our county and they aren’t doing story time right now! Once our library card expires we would have to pay thirty dollars to continue to check out books there! To hear that a library opened up only 10 minutes farther than that one was such good news!

Today we decided to go and check it out. My junior photographer came along to snap some photos and he doubled as a pretty cute model, too!

Hanging out in the lounge area. There are outlets available to charge your devices and see that sign? Coffee IS allowed in this space!

(As a side note, this post is not affiliated with Richland Libraries. I just loved it so much I had to spread that love!)

While Leopold was playing in this awesome tent from the Land of Nod, I overheard a woman nearby talking about all the children around us.

He LOVED this little tent. I wish I had 200$ and tons of space!

This leads to a loft you can climb into and read, or look out over the entire library. Leopold wasn’t too sure about those giant steps!

She was a grandma, visiting with her two young grandchildren, and was talking to a younger man nearby.

The woman was saying how much of a shame it was that the children were running around loudly, and that they aren’t learning that you’re supposed to be quiet in a library. She mentioned that they were ‘a bunch of hooligans’ (no, I’m not kidding).

It was all I could do not to say something to that woman! At first I wanted to say ‘It’s a parent’s job to teach their children to be quiet in a library, not the library itself’. After hearing her go on for a while longer about the ‘noisy children’ having fun (how dare they) I changed my mind. If I had stepped over and said something it would have gone something like this…

“Maybe the fact that these children are actually enjoying themselves while they are here will encourage them to want to come back! Instead of being told to hush, or that they are being too noisy, this library encourages creativity and imagination. I personally want my child to grow up to love reading and coming to the library. What better place to take him than to a library that lets him be the child he is!”

Hearing that woman complain about the children in the library just really got under my skin. Especially as she was there with her toddler grand kids! The library I grew up in is great, but it hasn’t changed one bit since I was little. To this day I walk in there and feel like I’ve been transported back to 1994. It’s a wonderful library, but I feel like I can’t breathe too loudly or I’ll get rude looks. That library would actually be perfect for the woman I ran into today.

There is a little cave under the tall fort where (as you see here) you can put on a puppet show!

The way this library in particular is set up seems to be geared toward children for the most part. There’s a giant fort, a tent, legos, puzzles, big floor cushions, and more children’s books than you could ever read! There are movies, audio books, and magazines, all for kids.

Playing with legos in one of the many spaces designed for children.

Sure, they have books and movies for adults as well, but in general it’s geared more toward children and young adults. I love how modern and clean it feels!

Did I mention this library is actually inside the Cullen’s house? (Twilight, anyone? No?…)

There is even an outdoor lounge area to go read your books and relax. They have lounge chairs and even picnic tables!

Hanging around outside in the lounge area!

If you live anywhere near Ballentine or in Richland County, I urge you to go check out the newest addition to Richland Libraries! It even looks cool on the outside! Seriously, have you seen a library look this hip? I sure haven’t!

See the solar panels? How cool is that?!

The Land of Nod: Design For Kids and People That Used to be Kids