Stop by and grab a book: New Agricultural Library opens in Darlington

 

In the new Darlington library, customers can borrow cookbooks – and the pans to bake their meals. They can borrow books that provide pickleball clues — and the paddles to practice their dink shots.

An outdoor fireplace on a partially covered patio provides an inviting backdrop for perhaps movie nights. Inside the library itself there is a corner where toddlers can play with stuffed animals and an interactive outdoor storybook walk where they can exercise their legs, lungs and imagination.

Harford County Darlington Branch Library staff member Shawn Edwards places books near a children’s laboratory station at the new branch location. (Kenneth K. Lam/Baltimore Sun)

For readers visiting the library on horseback, there is a rest area, outdoor picnic tables, and a “tablet tower” where children can surf the Internet using the library’s mobile devices.

This isn’t your grandmother’s library. By the way, it’s not even your older sister’s library.

The newly refurbished Darlington branch, which was inaugurated on October 19, is part of a nationwide trend by libraries to question their traditional roles and reconsider the nature of the resources they provide. Read More