If you haven’t been to at least one of our four fabulous Medical Libraries, you’re missing out. But did you know that Golisano Children’s Hospital also has a library? It’s the Library and Business Center at Golisano, located on the second floor across the hall from the Ronald McDonald Room.
This library is geared toward patients, their families, and other visitors to the hospital. Carrying on the mission of Barbara’s Friends, “Every child deserves a free book!”, Program Chair Polly Woodring and other trained volunteers offer age- and interest-appropriate book choices, as well as crayons and puzzle pages, to their young visitors. While the kids are busy listening to their new book being read aloud by a volunteer or coloring at the child-size table, adults can check their email, print off necessary forms, and choose a book for themselves.
The services provided by the Library and Business Center extend beyond its four walls. Trained volunteers take a cart loaded with a variety of books to patient floors, to provide patients with new books to read (or have read to them) and take home. Patients select their own book from several suggestions, giving them some control in a situation in which they have little to none. As for the littlest patients, NICU parents are provided with premade book packets, so they have something to read aloud to their babies during visits.
So, if you know someone who is visiting HealthPark or Golisano with their littles, be sure to tell them to drop by the Golisano Library and Business Center for a free book!