Remember when libraries were serious places full of whispers and musty smells? There was also an unsmiling person who stamped-out your books with a loud ominous KER-THOMP!
Libraries were efficient. They were not, however, fun.
Things have changed. In fact, libraries have gone full rock star -- literally.
At the SouthShore Regional Library in Ruskin, which is currently celebrating National Library Week, you can book time -- FREE time, that is -- in an honest-to-goodness recording studio. Music, TV, podcasts. You name it; you can record it in "the HIVE." (Check it out HERE.)
"We offer so much to the community in terms of the latest technology and classes and free wireless," says Cheryl Wolfe, principal librarian at SouthShore, adding that things have changed "tremendously."
She's not kidding. There's also a Genealogy Center, where volunteers well-versed in all manner of familial research, will climb all over your family tree. Again, this is free. (Check out full services and events at SouthShore right HERE.)
Branches all over the bay area are celebrating National Library Week with free events, talks, classes and related cool stuff. (P.S. parents: There are lots of video game events too; not a bad way to introduce your children to the library.)
For Pinellas County libraries,go HERE.
For Hillsborough County libraries, go HERE.
For Pasco County libraries, go HERE.
For Polk County libraries, go HERE.
For Hernando County libraries, go HERE.
For Citrus County libraries, go HERE.
For Sarasota County libraries, go HERE.
For Manatee County libraries, go HERE.
