Why This Elkhart Mom Is Thankful For The Library

By: Krystal Keagle

Maya plays with a puzzle at a recent visit to the Dunlap branch. Photo Provided.

I’ve always loved the “ber” months, but the holiday season is even more fun now that I have a child.

It’s been fun seeing Maya enjoy the holidays each year, especially as her comprehension grows. Of course, her first Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas were so magical because they were the first. Now that she’s 2 ½, she is very engaged in each of the holidays and their traditions.

Ahead of Thanksgiving, we’re talking a lot about thankfulness and what it means to be grateful. I’ve asked her about fun activities we did earlier this year or people we visited and telling her that I’m thankful we got to do those things. I think she understands the concept as much as any 2-year-old does.

It’s also fun to hear about what she remembers about the year — like the helicopters we saw while swimming at her uncle’s house or going on the swing at Grandma and Grandpa’s neighborhood park.

As I reflect on 2024, I feel especially grateful for the Elkhart Public Library. I’ve always loved going to the library since I was a kid. This year, we’ve spent a lot of time at EPL branches and they’ve become very special to us. So ahead of Thanksgiving, I want to share a few reasons why I’m so thankful for EPL this year.

It’s A Perfect Toddler Activity

As any parent of a toddler will tell you, it’s important to have plenty of activities to do so that your toddler can meet new people and have fun while burning off their seemingly endless amount of energy.

Going to the library is one of our favorite activities. No matter what branch we visit, there are toys to play with and fun areas to explore. There are often other children there too, so Maya gets to socialize in a safe place. We can easily spend a couple of hours at the library because it’s so much fun for her.

Because there are five different branches and going to the library is free, there’s a lot of variety. It’s easy to rotate between the branches to keep going to the library feeling fresh. That means more diverse toddler activities without breaking the bank — something every family can be thankful for!  

There Are So Many Events and Experiences

One of my favorite things about the Elkhart Public Library is how many events they put on each week and month.

Maya was very thankful for the delicious ice cream she earned during the 2024 Summer Reading Program. Photo Provided.

There are regular storytimes and drop-in crafts. The library hosts preschool parties, activity clubs for older kids and teens, and family movie nights. There are also seasonal celebrations, like Winterfest.

Throughout the year, the library hosts reading challenges. Maya participated in the 2024 Summer Reading Challenge. She earned new books and ice cream at Vanilla Bean Creamery for reading. The challenge ended with a huge celebration at the Tolson Center, complete with multiple bounce houses and a live musical performance — Maya loved it!

The library also offers experience passes that you can check out to visit local destinations, including two of our favorite places (that we’re also very thankful for): Wellfield Botanic Gardens and Potawatomi Zoo.

The Community Connection

The library helps us connect with other people in the Elkhart community. We always meet new people at every visit. Since Maya and I are exploring all of the EPL branches, we get to see different areas of town that we may not otherwise normally visit.

I love seeing Maya’s social skills grow, and the library helps with that. She meets new kids of all ages there. Now that she’s starting to do more collaborative play, she is learning how to share and trade for different toys she wants. It’s also helpful for her to learn how to introduce herself and make friends with new people.

I also recently learned that most branches have their own book club. I plan to join one in 2025, and I can’t wait to meet new people and talk about books!

The Library Helps Maya Grow — And Will Grow With Her

Maya reads a book during her visit library visit ever in May 2024. She’s grown so much since that visit. Photo Provided.

I started taking Maya to the library regularly in spring 2024 so that we could start checking out more books as she participates in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program. I thought it was so awesome that the library was focused on childhood literacy even from birth — and was blown away as I learned more about everything the library offers to kids.

In addition to seasonal reading challenges and events, the library offers programs like Growing Readers, in which kids 3-8 can get reading tutoring from a certified reading teacher. When Maya gets to elementary school, she’ll be able to get homework help at the library if she needs it and access the Brainfuse platform.

As she gets older, we can also start attending Books and Boots at Ox Bow Park, to combine some physical activity with our book discussions.

All the while, she’ll always be able to find books to read that match her age group and reading ability.

And Of Course, The Books!

That brings us to the last reason I’m so thankful for EPL — the books!

EPL has such a vast collection of books across its five branches, both for children and adults.  We love finding new books to read on a regular basis, and we love seeing what the libraries offer at each visit. One of the best parts of visiting different branches is seeing their collections too. Each location is unique. We’re over 230 books into our 1,000 books so far, and we haven’t even put a dent into the library’s collection.

I love the adult selection too. I typically read ebooks using my library card with the Libby app. If there’s a book that isn’t available on Libby (I read a lot of nonfiction), I’ve always been able to find a physical copy at one of the Elkhart Public Library branches. It’s very easy to request it to be delivered to my nearest branch, which makes pickup a breeze.

Speaking of pickup, we also love requesting Book Bundles for Maya when we can’t spend a lot of time at the library. It’s a fun way to get new books that we might not normally pick out ourselves, but we end up falling in love with. We recently discovered the “Little Green Peas” series in a Book Bundle we received — so much fun!

Every time we check out books, the library receipt includes a tally of how much money we would have spent had we purchased each book instead of borrowing it. In 2024, our family has saved over $1,200 because the library provides such great access to so many books. That doesn’t even include the value of the free events EPL hosts.

The Elkhart Public Library is truly an invaluable gem in our community. As both a parent and an avid reader myself, I am so grateful for the wonderful services, programs and events that the library offers.

What makes you feel grateful about the Elkhart Public Library? I’d love to know! Tell me about it in the comments on the Elkhart Public Library’s Facebook page.