[Publib] Shopping carts in libraries?

[Elizabeth Meyers]

Hi. I'm new to the list, and a current library student. I've got a question for you all. I was chatting with a friend of mine who loves books with a passion, but she has trouble going to the local public library because of her three very young, VERY active kids. (I've helped watch them before, so I can attest to their activeness; they're all under 5 years.) She told me that browsing in the children's section was great, but it was very difficult to browse for books in the adult section, simply because she didn't have a way to keep all of her children in order while she took the time to take a peek at books on the shelf. So, she would either try to browse and come away harried and frustrated, or she would get books for her kids and try to forget her own longing for grown-up novels.

She told me that she thought having shopping carts in the library would be fantastic, because then she could keep her kids in the cart while she browsed. So, out of curiosity, has anyone out there ever heard of this being done in a public library? If not, does anyone else have ideas for things the library could do to help? I know we tend to be a bit nervous about parents dropping kids off in the children's room while they go browse the adult section by themselves, but do any other solutions exist for a parent with multiple young ones?

Elizabeth Meyers
GSLIS Student
Simmons College
elizabethrmeyers at hotmail.com



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