A library in Virginia, planned and designed by a single mom to serve the family, has become a go-to place by parents for its desks are attached to baby cribs.
At the Henrico County Public Library, they make sure to tell parents that they are seen and heard. Thus, in one of their branches, the Fairfield Area Library, located at 1401 N. Laburnum Avenue, Virginia, they offer the Fairfield Parent+Child Carrel. "Family workplay stations" where parents and caregivers are provided access to the computer while having a safe place to contain their babies or children are available around the library for all parents and kids to utilize and enjoy.
A local dad with a two-year-old daughter, Matt Hansen, cannot help but commend this "amazing" innovation as well as the heart and intentionality of the library management. He calls the workplay station as the "perfect solution" for those moments that he needs to do work and errands that entails a computer but not enough to call in a babysitter or another caregiver for help.
"Whether you're answering emails and placing quick orders like me, or just need access to a computer to job hunt, pay bills or whatever you need, having the ability to put your kid in a safe place at arms reach where they can be occupied and not be strapped to your side for free is an amazing thing," he expressed.
Transforming libraries into a family space
Behind this phenomenal idea is Barbara Weedman, the county library's director.
When she was still a single mom to her now adult son, she could not stop thinking about the difficulties to parent in public spaces, especially those that were not designed with families in mind. She saw that this issue was evident in her workplace as well. Parents and caregivers come to the library, struggling to use the computers as they balance their baby on the lap or keep track of their busy and moving toddler, she shared to Insider.
Thus, in 2017, when the library was once again branching out, she made sure that parents and families can have their own space in the public library.
She worked with the community and creative groups TMC Furniture and Quinn Evanns, a design collective firm, to make the family workplay station come to life, the first of its kind, and ready for the 2019 library opening.
Weedman was ecstatic to see that on the opening day, a mother with her baby and child went inside the library and she "intuitively" placed her children on the carrel without any of the staff instructing her to do so.
"These Work and Play Stations are just another way libraries can be supportive, a piece of infrastructure that helps meet information needs and makes our spaces more accessible and inclusive for caregivers of small children. We believe people shouldn't need to arrange childcare just to visit us and use the computers... we want the library to meet all their needs at once," Weedman stressed.
Garnered support and 'thank yous' from parents
The library went viral and got national press attention when policy director for Families Forward Virginia Ali Faruk took to Twitter and posted a picture of the workstations last January 2022.
He then tweeted, "Public spaces available and accessible to all are so important. This is how we strengthen families and create a culture and community that values children."
Weedmand and the entire staff were surprised that their library got the media's attention and was garnering "impassioned responses online." Yet, at the same time, they were overwhelmed, realizing that people with small kids felt so special that they were "seen and considered in a public space."
From then on, Weedman and the library have heard of many other organizations and individuals' intentionality to place the same kind of workplay stations in other public places, and even private ones. Parents have also expressed how they want to have the same carrel at home.
Related article: Maine Parents Voice Concerns Over Accessibility of Explicit Content in School Library
