If the popular pollinator garden is any indication, you can tell peace of mind awaits at the Skyland/South Buncombe Library. The garden acts as a sanctuary for bees, butterflies, and birds while offering guests multiple seating areas for respite, reading, and relaxing in nature.
Inside you’ll find an equally engaging environment to satisfy your need for media, social activities, instructional courses, and other resources geared toward enhancing your life.
Librarian Anna Booraem notes that the children’s area is as popular as it is evolving. “There is always something fun to do, from the ever-changing maker space to the book character stuffed animals such as Fly Guy,” says Booraem. “Kids love the Banana Moon rocking chair, the puzzles, and the play food items that are always available to stimulate their imagination… donut sandwich anyone?”
While the kids are kept busy, adults can take advantage of everything from the extensive romance paperback collection to the county’s longest-running book club. Of course, amenities run beyond traditional books. “We always have a puzzle for patrons to work on, a chess table in a back corner with pieces available at the front desk, and a variety of great magazines from Entertainment Weekly to Scientific American as well as the Wall Street Journal and the Sunday New York Times,” explains Booraem.
How else can you find sanctuary at the Skyland/South Buncombe Library? Make sure to scour a vast selection of opportunities such as:
- Tech Tutor sessions every Friday from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm featuring teen volunteers helping with any electronic resource questions you might have. To register, call the library at 250-6488 to sign up for a twenty-minute session.
- Study hall is available most days after school and is an adult-free, quiet area for teens to do homework.
- Reading with J.R. the therapy dog on the first Friday of the month from 2:30 pm to 3:30 pm. To register, call the library at 250-6488 to sign up. For children age six and up.
- A monthly intercambio (exchange) group offers Spanish and English speakers the chance to come together to help each other practice a new language.
- Weekly baby, toddler, and preschooler story times.
- And be sure the check out the entire event calendar for one-offs and other events.
Also of note are a monthly creative writing group for older teens and adults, a knitting group, and recurring art classes hosted by a local artist. “The art courses are very popular, and we always have a waiting list. Participants have painted with watercolors and acrylics, created Zen tangles, and practiced drawing on the right side of the brain,” says Booraem, who notes to check the calendar and the Facebook page for scheduling.
It’s hard to imagine a place with so much bustling activity is also a haven to check out from day-to-day stresses, but the ample reading space and myriad of soothing resources will have you frequenting this special sanctuary.
Make sure you also visit the library’s featured online resources where you can get car repair advice, learn a new language, trace your ancestry, and more… all for free with your library card.
Buncombe County Libraries have more than just books! Our local libraries are community hubs where citizens of all ages can find services and amazing programs. Find a library in your community where you can read, learn, and discover.