Recently, Courtney Bayne, one of my Youth Services colleagues, relayed some comments from one of our customers who is relatively new to the Princeton community. We were both inspired to share them here.
The customer and her family are from Australia and have become regular visitors to the third floor Youth Services department. They are among the many short-term residents Princeton has as a result of the major university at its center and the countless domestic and international businesses flanking its corridors.
“We are from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia,” the customer wrote. “We are in Princeton for my husband’s work. We are here for 6 months. People are friendly and helpful here. They help open the door for me, especially with a double pram … My family really likes your library. We really like your children’s book selections, and I especially like your backpack full of kids’ books. We wish Australia’s libraries were like Princeton’s.”
At the library, we recognize that new arrivals to this country or the Princeton area, can feel overwhelmed and need a community center to get their bearings. And we are prepared to greet and welcome!
Here, newcomers can gather information on everything from local attractions, to school reports, housing information, and good reads. Maps of the town, newspapers, books and DVDs in other languages, free English conversation classes, story times and an activity center for children and a community bulletin board can all be found at the library, too. Not to mention free programs every night of the week.
With the bustling caf, new children’s activity center (opening in early October), Nano Science Center (opening mid-October), study rooms, Mac Lab, giant Community Room, and comfortable fireplace seating, the library serves as a welcome center to the wonderfully unique population that we are grateful to serve.