DALLAS - It's unusual, unconventional and wildly popular. It's called Bookmarks, a Dallas Public Library unit located inside Dallas' Northpark Center. Visitor Vik Bhatia thinks it's a great idea. He says, "My daughter, the first thing she did is go to different books and start pulling them off the shelves and wanted us to read to her."

That is the idea. And the new way of doing business being called the wave of the future. Instead of people coming to a stand alone library, the library and all its amenities come to them in a convenient setting like a grocery store or shopping center. Dallas Public Library Youth Services manager Jo Giudice says, "Maybe dad will stay and play or read with the kids here while mom shops and then they come back, mom will stay with the kids and dad goes and shops."

At this library, it isn't quiet and there is no shushing. The books, movies, games and puzzles are for kids 12 and under. And age-appropriate behavior is encouraged. Paula Reynolds says her family loves it, including toddler, Paulina. "They (kids) can play with other kids while they're here. They can crawl on the floor or they can get through these tunnels that are kid-friendly. They don't scratch themselves or anything like that."

The bad economy may be contributing to the page-turning membership. It is free, along with all the activities, like parent-child yoga and professional story-telling. Staff says no one knew what to expect initially, but having just celebrated its second birthday, Jo Giudice says, "Our circulation numbers mirror some of our small branch locations and we're about a fifth of the size of the smallest other branch in the Dallas Public Library."