I have lived in Thailand for a good portion of my adult life. A dozen years in this city, and I never knew there was a library here.. let alone one that is so.. kid-friendly!
To be honest, libraries of old are part of a dying breed of public institutions that have been made redundant with the emergence of the internet (and in this case, the ebooks). On top of that, Thais aren't known to be notorious readers.. not many that I know like to read.. literacy rates have risen steadily in Thailand over the past few decades, however, reading as a hobby is still not very popular among the general population.
So imagine my surprise when I noticed a placard for a public library right in the middle of town!
Having some friends in from out of town, and looking for something different to entertain the kids, we decided to pull in and have a gander..
It doesn't seem like your typical library at first glance... it's a small, open aired, old style government building. Upon entering, we were immediately greeted by a reception area and to the right were a random arrangement of armchairs and couches, tvs, computer desks, magazine racks and coffee tables.
To the left was.. a kiddie area! Newly renovated and packed with playthings, it was bright and colorful. The receptionist followed us in and got the air-conditioning units started (thank god).
The kids room looks small at first glance, but it's been set up nicely, with different areas for tinkering with small logic toys, putting oversized puzzle pieces together, a reading train, and a matted area for rough-housing. It was an instant hit with the kids and parents alike.
While the children dove into the various areas to explore and play, I walked around.. again, there isn't much at first sight.. where are all the books?? turns out... upstairs.. on the second floor there are two adjacent study rooms, with tables in the middle and bookshelves stacked full on either side.
Most of the books are school reference books, assorted by subject. But I did see thai versions of Harry Potter, one of Warren Buffet's books translated into Thai, and an old-school kid science picture dictionary in English!
All the books were old and dusty, but with the heat and humidity, and the windows always left open like that, it's no wonder they looked so weathered.
By the time I came back downstairs, the kids had built a fortress using all the rumble tumble equipment and were getting ready to have a rubber ball fight (ala snowball fight).. It was all fun and games until one of them took a rubber ball to the forehead and a wellspring of tears burst forth..
It had been a long day and the library was slated to close by 4:30pm anyway, so we headed out. But it was a little gem of a find, and im not averse to having an extra place to frequent with the kids.. Maybe I can even get them to read next time.. (yeah, who am I kidding?)