In the Heart of the Community - Wiseburn Public Library

This is a continuation of a series of blog postings on the communities in the Wiseburn school district in Hawthorne - Wiseburn, Holly Glen, and Del Aire.

The Wiseburn Public Library is almost literally the center of the communities of the Wiseburn school district.  Though the area it serves is small in comparison to some of the larger libraries, like the ones in Manhattan Beach or Redondo Beach, the library is always bustling with activity during peak times.  Many families, seniors, and school children are drawn to this quaint library with a large community heart.

Located at 5335 West 135^th Street in Hawthorne, this county library is conveniently located right next to where the new Juan Cabrillo Elementary school is being built, and also less than a mile from Peter Burnett and Dana Middle schools.  Because of this ideal placement, it draws a large number of after school kids looking for homework help, project research, and to use the publicly available computers.

The library also holds many weekly children's events which draw a regular - and growing - crowd of kids and parents.  Every Saturday at 10:00 am is storybook time, followed by a fun craft for the kids.  On Tuesday nights at 7:00 pm, kids in their nighttime wear crowd onto the A-B-C rug to listen at Pajama Storybook Time.  For new (and not-so-new) families in the area, attending either of these educational and fun events is a great way to meet other families in the community.

On top of these regularly scheduled events, the Wiseburn library also schedules some special treats at different times of the year.  There is a day dedicated to Dr Seuss on his birthday, where - you guessed it - they read all Dr. Seuss books.  Christmas is special, as the big man himself, Santa Claus, makes a special stop to greet the children of Hawthorne.

Summertime is no exception.  Though school is out and the "boob tube" -watching time is on the rise, the Wiseburn library presents some stiff competition with special guests like a portable petting zoo, magicians, humongo-bubble makers, and many more.  They also hold a reading contest, publicly logging young readers' progress throughout the summer, and rewarding every reader.

The Wiseburn Library is also host to a book club that meets on a regular basis.  This group of intelligent folks read some of the recently-talked-of literature, and then do some of it themselves at the library.  The only requirement for joining this club is a thirst for reading!

Though this library is small, it does have a wide variety of media available to all patrons of the Los Angeles County Public Library.  Available are a wide selection of children's books, fact and fiction, CDs, DVDs, and VHS.  Several computers are also available for accessing the Internet, and most recently, free Wi-Fi is available to folks with laptops that have wireless Ethernet cards.

But the icing on the cake at this library is the folks working there.  Many of them have been working at the library for years, and are as much a part of the community as the folks that live here.  Library patrons are warmly greeted as they come in the front double-doors, "early-birds" are rewarded with stickers as they arrive for Storybook Time, and if you are nice enough, they may even waive late fees for you (I know this for a fact!).

So if you are new to the neighborhood - or even if you have been here for years - take a trip to the Wiseburn Public Library in Hawthorne, and tell them I said "hi".

Copyright 2008 Tiffany Wilson.  All rights reserved.