I was really excited when I saw the Instagram post from the Chicago Public Library Foundation announcing the Summer program AND that you could earn a hat. As a child, I read a lot and as an adult, I read on and off until picking it back up after my daughter was born. Reading on my Kindle was something I could do that required little energy from me and allowed me to stay close to her as she slept in our room those early months. Once I connected to Libby with my library account, I haven’t been able to stop reading!
As my daughter got older and I felt well enough to venture out, we participated in story time sessions at the Edgebrook branch, and just going to the library to hang out and check out books. I love that now she enjoys going to the library. We read a lot at home and I hope to pass on my love of the library to her…I feel successful so far!
With the summer reading challenge, I was inspired by the book The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerner. I was reminded of the value in a gift economy like that of the library. As I searched for the last book to read for the challenge, it clicked that I could use the opportunity to start my journey into birding! I checked out a physical copy of A Birder’s Guide to the Chicago Region by Lynne Carpenter and Joel Greenberg from the Jefferson Park branch. I learned about local birding sites I could check out and was happy to learn how much access to birding is all around me!
As I looked for a library event for my sixth activity, I found a lot of cool events but they didn’t align with my schedule. Then, I saw there was a toddler painting event at the Dunning branch which I hadn’t been to. The timing worked out well because it was scheduled after my daughter’s swim class just a few minutes away. In the interim, I was checking out birding websites and resources and one noted you could check out binoculars from the library. When I ran a search on the Chicago Public Library app, I found that one of the two branches who loans birding kits was Dunning! The alignment of it all excited me.
We went to the event and my daughter had a great time. The children’s librarian was really nice and a fellow mom of a little one. I got my hat and checked out a birding kit. I’ve been using both extensively this week especially in my backyard and birding hotspots around the city.
This challenge was more than reading and attending events for me. It was a chance to explore an interest I did not think I could do and got me out to branches I had not visited before. More importantly, it reaffirmed by love of public libraries and provided unique opportunities to share that love with my daughter. As I celebrate ten years of living in Chicago, this was a great way to get to know the city in a new lens.
Thank you CPL for the access and inspiration!
