By Ruth Leopold

There’s a new brightly colored section in the Carolina Meadows Library and it’s filled with books by some well-known authors. These include writers like Dr. Seuss, Margaret Wise Brown, Eric Carle and Robert McCluskey. “But wait!” you say. “Those are authors of children’s books. What are they doing in the library of a retirement community?”

The answer is simple; these books are part of a Children’s Library which recently opened at Carolina Meadows. The books are meant for the children of our wonderful staff who make our lives here so pleasant. Now, instead of having to make a trip to a public library to find books suitable for their kids, staff can simply drop by the C.M. library and find an array of stories their children will love. It’s a win-win situation, less driving for the parents and more reading (and learning) adventures for the children.

In an odd way, the pandemic helped make money available to fund a Children’s Library. During the pandemic, recreational activities at Carolina Meadows, such as concerts, lectures, holiday parties etc. were largely shut down and the monies allotted for them went unspent in 2020 and much of 2021. Precincts (Neighborhoods in CM) were given those monies to spend as each precinct wished. Precinct Seven generously donated $400 towards a Children’s Library and members of the Early Advantage Precinct chipped in $500. Voila! The idea was born.

Dixie Lee Spiegel, the Library Operations Manager and Ann Kotch, Book Sale Manager and a former Elementary School Librarian headed the project. They looked for high- quality books that would reflect the diversity of their audience. They found bilingual books with English and Spanish on the same page and wished they could have found more of them. They bought picture books that parents could read to their children and “Early Readers” that children could read on their own. The collection includes books for parents as well, suggesting games and activities they can do with their children.

Before they could be put on shelves, however, a host of tasks needed to be finished. Library volunteers pasted pockets to hold circulation cards in the books, entered catalog numbers into the computer, then covered the books with protective sleeves.

Library volunteers had wanted to visit department meetings to tell staff about the Children’s Library and personally invite them to use it. A spike in COVID cases in North Carolina meant that this couldn’t happen. Instead, library volunteers are relying on word-of-mouth to alert Carolina Meadows workers about this new resource for them.

The Children’s Library is by no means finished. Funds remain to purchase more books and donations of children’s books in good shape will be gratefully received.