After seeing all the awesome things happening at Bibliopolis in Berkeley and the recent opening of the Minneapolis branch, we just couldn’t stand to be left out! Some of us decided we just had to have our own branch…our very own Longhorn Library! I know everything is supposed to be bigger in Texas, and while our humble library may not bigger (yet) than Berkeley’s, and we don’t have a fun hanging chair like Minneapolis, we are quite happy with our very own reading castle, reading nook with curtains and hanging lights, and bean bags that were generously donated by one of the uncles.

Even before the Grand Opening, our very own fourth grader (aka Mik) donated many of her books, prepared a Grand Opening flyer for all the families, and printed up a library schedule for all to see. One of the kindergarteners wanted to donate her books too, but we reminded her that she has younger siblings who might benefit from having them at home 😛 Then all the children decorated book bags during JScouts to keep their library books safe when they took them home.

Finally, the big day arrived when Bibliopolis Austin would finally open! One child said, “I can’t believe it’s really happening! I thought it was just a dream..I didn’t think it would actually happen!” There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony after which the children saw the library for the first time. They did a scavenger hunt to familiarize themselves with the organization of the library and learn how to properly handle the books, and they each got their own bag of gummy worms to remind themselves that they are now official “Bibliopolis bookworms” (to be eaten outside of the library, of course)!

A big thank you to Emily for getting this reading ball rolling. We look forward to many fun and educational times in our very own library!

BibliopolisAustin from hemilykim on Vimeo.

* If you look closely in the video, you’ll notice a certain 4th grader from Gracepoint Berkeley church who got to be there at the momentous Grand Opening festivities!