Library Helps Keep
Parents Informed,
Kids Smiling

Knowledge is power. But a little entertainment doesn’t hurt either.

With support from the Lucile Packard Children’s Fund, the Family Resource Center at Packard Children’s provides both knowledge and entertainment to patients and families during their hospital stays. 

''Some parents come to us totally overwhelmed,'' says Jan Moore, a library specialist at Packard. ''Their child is sick and they need reliable information.'' For these parents, the Center has an extensive collection stocked with current reference and consumer health books. Staff also can assist with online searches for specific conditions.

Other families just want the distraction of a good book or movie in the midst of illness and hospitalization. ''Kids’ faces light up when they walk in here. They think it’s like Blockbuster,'' says librarian Margaret Brooks, gesturing toward a case full of the latest DVDs for kids. Under a sunny window, long shelves overflow with colorful children’s books spanning a range of reading levels and languages.

Located on the third floor of the Hospital, the Center is open every weekday and adds new items to its collection monthly, thanks to the Children’s Fund and in-kind donations of library materials.

For patients who are confined to their rooms, Center staff and volunteers come to them. ''Jud loves it when they bring him books and movies,'' says Chris Lein of Pleasanton, whose 4-year-old son, Judson, receives ongoing care for short bowel syndrome. ''He can’t leave his room because of all the medical equipment he needs.'' 

The Center also offers programming around the clock, including volunteers who read with patients in clinic waiting rooms, a dedicated phone line that patients can call to hear a recorded story, and a closed circuit television system with movie channels in English and Spanish, a 24-hour Relaxation channel, and a TOT-TV channel with programming chosen especially for younger children.