"It is never too early -- or late -- to start visiting the library. Go on a library safari with your children and you'll be amazed at all there is to discover," according to the International Reading Association. Today's libraries are true media centers, offering far more than books. There are many more learning opportunities: magazines, videos, the Internet, computer instruction, community information, art exhibits and craft classes, to name a few.

Here are things that you should explore with children of various ages:

• Infants: sturdy board books, picture books and books or CDs of songs and rhymes
• Toddlers: picture books and storybooks
• Preschool Children: books catering to their specific interests, such as airplanes, animals, dinosaurs and trains
• Kindergarten to Second Grade: the different events that children can sign up for at the library
• Third to Fifth Grade: nonfiction books on a wide range of topics