I’ll admit it; when my children were young, I didn’t take them to the local library, even though I spent many hours in the library as a child. I’m not sure why I didn’t take them. Part of it was probably that I loved reading books to them myself, and we subscribed to several book-of-the-month clubs. Now that I work at the library, I feel a little remorseful for not taking advantage when my children were young.
I recently made a stop in my hometown of Worland, WY. I decided to drop by the library that I have such fond memories of; I am pretty sure it shrunk! I walked through and then visited with the friendly library staff at the front desk.
I let them know I worked at Laramie County Library, and we chatted for a few minutes. What I took away from that visit was how much we take for granted. We recently hired a new Deputy Director of Public Service. At the staff meeting, when he was introduced, he stated how happy he 
was to be here. He also mentioned that, “in case we didn’t know, our library was world class.” This really got me thinking; we truly do have an amazing library in Laramie County! It is one of the coolest libraries I’ve ever been in. I continue to be surprised at the amount of traffic we see each day. Even with all of the traffic, I feel that so many of our resources go unused.
For that reason, I would like to share with you some of the resources you may have forgotten or didn’t know about to begin with, so you, too, can take advantage of what LCLS has to offer:
- During weekday business hours we have a free notary service! I work in the office behind the reception desk and I hear them give the spiel so many times I can recite it myself. In order to have a document notarized you must bring a photo ID (of the person signing). If the person signing doesn’t have a photo ID, they must bring in two people who do have photo ID’s who can vouch for them.
- The Capital Room is the room where there is no talking allowed! There are some great coffee table books in there, and don’t forget the amazing view of the Capitol building. Ever wish you could cozy up by the fire with some tea or coffee and read but you don’t have a fireplace? We’ve got you covered! There is a fireplace for use during winter months and you can grab a cup-o-Joe from the Café then head on up to the Capital room for some relaxing reading. Sharon Mikesell wrote a great blog with more information about this room, check it out here.
- I have taken many online classes in my life; sometimes it is so hard to study at home with all the distractions. We have eight study rooms (they aren’t sound proof), they do have a door that closes. The study rooms on the 3rd floor are typically pretty quiet; they will help you concentrate and get your studying done.
- There are so many programs for both youth & adults happening each month. There is something for everyone; keep your eye on our online calendar. The genealogy programs were excellent; I attended both basics & beyond basics. They are offered three times a year (next in October 2016).
- You can schedule a 45 minute session to learn a new skill or just to go over basics like how to scan and email photos or files (for example) in our one-on-one computer help sessions. You choose the topic (just try not to be too vague so we can maximize your time).
- For a small fee you can get a book from anywhere in the country and/or world (that participates in Inter-Library Loan program). So if we do not have a book that you’re looking for, give us a call and we can check on an ILL.
- I have never been one to listen to audio books, since I truly enjoy reading! Having said that, we recently purchased a house a little ways out of town which has given me a longer commute. Rather than listen to the same 20 songs on my iPod, I have been checking out and listening to audio books! It has been a wonderful way to drive to work.
- Have you ever cashed your airline miles in for magazines? I have; it got to be really overwhelming and felt super wasteful with all the magazine subscriptions I received. Rather than subscribing, you can come in and flip through your favorite magazine (most don’t check out) then you leave it for the next person to enjoy! Less waste and clutter in your house. We have a great selection that you can check out on our online catalog.
- We have several meeting rooms you can reserve for use. Maybe you have a small study group, maybe you and some friends have a book club, maybe you and your co-workers need somewhere away from work to brainstorm, whatever the reason we’ve got you covered! Check out the meeting room page for more information.
- The second floor is amazing, your children, tweens & teens will love coming and exploring everything we have to offer. You can spend hours in here exploring and we hope you will! Grab a calendar while you’re here and see when the next storytime or youth program is taking place.
All of the services and items I mentioned above are what take our library from ordinary to extraordinary. Do not forget the reason we are here though, be sure you check out a book while you’re here! We have cookbooks, graphic novels, how tos, DIY’s, fiction, non-fiction, children’s, and the list goes on and on. We hope to see you soon!
~Anna M.