Westerly Sun Column | Library Can Make Your Travel A Bit Easier

I’m currently finalizing the plans for my upcoming family vacation, a task that I — as a serial over-thinker/over-planner — find completely overwhelming and push off until the last minute. Thus, making it even more overwhelming. What restaurants are close by, kid-friendly (or at least kid-tolerant), and won’t break the bank? How will I keep my feral children quiet and occupied in said restaurant? What should we plan to do if it rains? I inevitably begin to spiral, until I remember that I work in a library, and have a ton of resources at the tips of my fingers to make the trip a success.

Let’s start with the planning process. The travel guides are some of the most popular books in our nonfiction section, and for good reason! Whether you’re interested in visiting Seattle or Sicily, we have up-to-date guides from trusted names like Fodor’s and Frommer’s that can help you map out your trip. If you’re going abroad to a country whose primary language isn’t English, you may also want to pick up a pocket dictionary or phrase book, which we have in various languages. Even if you’re staying fairly local, there are books that can make your staycation or daytrip interesting, like National Geographic’s “Abroad at Home: The 600 Best International Travel Experiences in North America” or “Weird New England: Your Travel Guide to New England’s Local Legends and Best Kept Secrets” by Joseph A. Citro.

Now that you know where you’re going, you’ll still need something to entertain you while you’re getting there. Obviously the library is chock full of books to help keep you amused, but those can be a bit cumbersome to travel with, and there’s worse than taking up valuable cargo space with books that may not even have a chance to read! For travel, I recommend dowloading the apps Libby, hoopla, and Kanopy, where you can check out eBooks, eAudiobooks, and movies for free. Each of these have materials for adults as well as kids, and all you need is your card.

Although we’re known of books and media, we have all kinds of other materials available for checkout these days. Our “Library of Things” includes items like soccer and bocce balls, Frisbees, and board games to keep the family entertained, or you can check out themed pre-school backpacks, which come with age-appropriate books and games. If you’re staying local, we have museum passes that give you discounted admission to Mystic Seaport, The Children’s Museum of Niantic, RISD Museum of Art, and many other great places. Last, but most certainly not least, are the mobile hotspots, which we also lend out. Trust me when I say these bad boys have (figuratively) saved my life on more than one occasion, and I will never travel without one again. Truly, it’s at the very top of my list!

Wherever you’re off to, and no matter what stage of planning you’re currently in, remember to stop by the library. I guarantee we have something to make your trip just a little bit easier.

by Cassie Skobrak, Adult Services Librarian