By Gail Radley
No trip to Lyonia
Preserve and
Environmental Center would be complete without a stop at their anchor attraction: the
Deltona Regional Library. And if you’re an aficionado of fine libraries, this is one for your list.
Once you’ve hiked though the preserve, studied the exhibits in the Environmental Center and Gallery and packed in a tasty lunch at Bagel King Café, follow the hallway at the back end of the café into the library. On your right, a sign announces “The Teen Zone,” a large room housing not only the young adu
lt collection of books and materials (including Wii games!), but also a bevy of computers, study nooks and lounge seating.
A real jewel in the Deltona Library is the children’s section. Kids
light up when they see the floor-to-ceiling tree (artificial) complete
with hideaways for birds and squirrels. This area’s collection includes
backpacks full of book-related toys and a wide variety of intriguing
puzzles and concept toys. While some of these cannot be used in the
library, visitors can purchase a 6-month library card for $30 dollars.
Much of the library’s 25,000 square feet is devoted to the adult collection. Notable in this area are cushy individual seats wired and ready for your laptop. There’s also the Book Nest, a used bookstore. Here you can beef up (or as I like to say, tofu up) your home library of books (plus puzzles, CDs and DVDs). Prices start at 10 cents, and the collection includes donated items (often read/used/viewed only once). Come early and you may score the latest best seller. If you're looking for something to do, the Deltona Regional Library's events calendar is abundant with free classes and activities for the young and old. In the summer months, a reading program for children k-8 is in full force, with puppets, storytellers, and more. Naturally, the teens have their own menu of intriguing programs. July, for example, offers Paper Pizaaz, Murder on the Beach-Live Clue, Sand Art, and Beach Party.
Let’s face it: Florida’s extended summer is hot. You can only play in the sun so long before you start feeling like a rotisserie chicken. Our unique library is great place to escape the heat or hide out from the rain. And mark your calendars for the mellow month of October — the 9th is the Library’s first Authors Book Fair. They’ve hardly let the word out and already 10 authors (yours truly included) have signed up. (Drop by my table, check out my books, and let me know you read about it on
www.vacationplanning.net!)