By Our Director, Sister Nicole Jones
I’m very excited to introduce the latest inspired addition to our Library—the family room!
When Elder Jones and I were called to be Directors last September, we were repeatedly told that the First Presidency wants to “put the family back in family history”, and we were instructed to find a way to do that in the St. George community. . . .
I’m very excited to introduce the latest inspired addition to our Library—the family room!
When Elder Jones and I were called to be Directors last September, we were repeatedly told that the First Presidency wants to “put the family back in family history”, and we were instructed to find a way to do that in the St. George community. . . .
Elder Jones and I have a three year old son. As a young family ourselves, one thing that was immediately very apparent to us was how well-catered the Library was to adults and how equally unaccommodating it was for children and young families.
Whenever we came into the Library with our son in tow, it was stressful! I felt like I was constantly shushing him or else I would shut the door to my office so he wouldn't be as loud for other patrons, and I always had to bring a backpack full of toys to entertain him. It was difficult to get anything done. If we as Directors, who needed to be at the Library, felt unwelcome with our son, how could we ever expect young parents to want to come in and take advantage of all the resources our St. George FamilySearch has to offer?
We knew we needed an area dedicated to facilitating a family's unique needs. After much prayer and pondering, and a lot of planning and work, we are pleased to announce that the family room is ready for patrons!
It is not a nursery and there will not be missionaries assigned to tend to the children. Parents will still be responsible for supervising their own kids, but our new family room makes it much easier to come into the Library with your children and enjoy all the amenities of our facility, like one-on-one assistance from a family history missionary, free access to premium genealogy websites, use of all our high-tech digitizing equipment… all while within eye shot of your kids.
Whenever we came into the Library with our son in tow, it was stressful! I felt like I was constantly shushing him or else I would shut the door to my office so he wouldn't be as loud for other patrons, and I always had to bring a backpack full of toys to entertain him. It was difficult to get anything done. If we as Directors, who needed to be at the Library, felt unwelcome with our son, how could we ever expect young parents to want to come in and take advantage of all the resources our St. George FamilySearch has to offer?
We knew we needed an area dedicated to facilitating a family's unique needs. After much prayer and pondering, and a lot of planning and work, we are pleased to announce that the family room is ready for patrons!
It is not a nursery and there will not be missionaries assigned to tend to the children. Parents will still be responsible for supervising their own kids, but our new family room makes it much easier to come into the Library with your children and enjoy all the amenities of our facility, like one-on-one assistance from a family history missionary, free access to premium genealogy websites, use of all our high-tech digitizing equipment… all while within eye shot of your kids.
Our family room is furnished, decorated and functions just like the family room in your own home. Sit at the dining room table with your laptop or work right outside the family room at one of our desktop computers and watch your children through our one-way windows.
Of course the family room is fully stocked with books, games and toys to entertain your precious little ones.
So, young parents, please come give it a try! No need to stress about what to do with your kids while you prepare family names for the temple. You will get all the perks of the Library, and your kids will be in heaven with new toys to play with.