As a family friendly community, kids make up a big part of Southlake. And like so many surrounding towns in the area, the hours from 3:00-8:00pm are a buzz with bikes, buses and cars transporting kids to after school activities all over town. The Southlake Shuffle is a persuasive temptation, especially in a town full of so many resources for all aged children. As such, kids can get overextended, overstretched and overtaxed in no time and this is where the library steps in to help keep families grounded.
Once a week, between our myriad of activities, my children and I had a standing date at the Southlake Library. There, we would walk through the doors, inhale the quiet and split up in our different directions. Thirty minutes later we would reconvene at the checkout counter with our arms full of books. Some of those books got devoured throughout the week and others were hardly touched. But it didn’t matter; they were free and available for us to borrow thanks to the public library system. To be sure, our weekly dates at the library saved me no telling how much money not having to buy so many books, but more importantly, in the middle of my children’s busy school week, the library provided us with a physical and mental space to catch our breath.
The library offers products, programs, services and spaces that fill our human need to connect to others, especially in our increasingly isolating world. But it also encourages that still small voice in each of us, encouraging much needed rejuvenation and self-care. The Library Foundation of Southlake recognizes the multiple roles of our public library and works towards its success and growth through advocacy, fundraising, and engagement that delights and benefits the entire community. Partnering with Library Giving Day is one way the LFOS can ensure our library remains firmly rooted in the next chapter of Southlake’s growth. ~ Lori Burr