Since the beginning of libraries, we’ve had a reputation for providing the public with access to the written word in books. It’s been a staple at public libraries and has served us well with offering great materials to borrow for the communities we serve.
Well times have changed, and libraries have done so as well to adapt to the modern needs of society. Not only do we continue offering books, but it expanded to periodicals, music, movies, audiobooks, and even digital materials.
Continuing to adapt, we’ve gone beyond the books by experimenting with special collections and they’ve begun to explode in use at your Abilene Public Library over the past few years. Allow us to give you a brief introduction to each of these specialty items, then visit your library to check them out or reserve them online using our catalog.
- Book Club in a Box: If you’re interested in hosting a book club, we offer a selection of curated kits to provide you 7-8 copies of the featured book, discussion questions, reviews, and a list of other read-alike titles.
- Homeschool / Education Kits: As a supplemental tool for homeschooling families, kits have been put together based on their curriculum and equipped with selected books on a particular subject, along with supplemental materials to enhance studies.
- Maker Kits: If you’re interested in learning a new skill or hobby, we offer kits that can teach you a variety of new skills. Each comes with an instructional book and all the tools you’ll need to try it out, and then decide whether it’s a hobby you’d like to spend your money on to pursue further.
- Phonics Kits: If you have a child needing help with reading, we have kits to help that offer books and supplemental materials and activities to help youth develop stronger reading skills. Even better, they feature popular series including The Berenstain Bears, Pinkalicious, Fancy Nancy, and more.
- STEAM Kits: One of the most popular additions are these kits that relate to science, technology, engineering, art, and math and designed to stimulate a child’s critical thinking, reasoning, and creativity. There are dozens of kits to teach kids about science, coding, building, construction, emotions, the anatomy, and so much more.
- Puzzles: We’ve made puzzles available on the public floor as an activity for people to do while visiting the library, and now we’re offering a circulating collection to take home and enjoy. Puzzles help to improve your memory and hand-eye coordination, reduce stress, increase attention, and more.
- Video Games: Enjoyed by all ages, gaming is a beneficial hobby for players by helping to improve manual dexterity, increase your brain’s gray matter, give you better social skills, teach you about problem solving, and more. We offer a variety of popular gaming titles on the leading consoles including the PlayStation 2-5, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Wii, and the Xbox.
We hope you take advantage of these new collections and explore more of what your Abilene Public Library has to offer beyond just books…although we’ll always have a healthy supply of those too!