WORDS AND IMAGES : Bound to Please : Support literacy during the giving season by buying books as presents or patronizing museum and library gift shops.

The great scholar Desiderius Erasmus, who died in 1536 at the age of 71, wrote, “When I get a little money, I buy books; and if any is left, I buy food and clothes.” Undoubtedly, he lived to what was then an extraordinary age because he digested more words than calories.

With his quote ringing in my ears, I attended two baby showers recently bearing books as gifts instead of those adorable bits of clothing that infants mess up one way or another or grow out of within months. It’s never too early to begin a library.

But it’s already too late to shop early for Hanukkah/Christmas. Suggestion: Visit museum and library gift shops. The Foundation Store at Thousand Oaks Library, 1401 E. Janss Road, features unique items. Of course, the proceeds of these stores help keep museums and libraries in business.

Adventures for Kids bookstore opened Kideos last month, a store that carries quality videos for children. Pick up “Beethoven Lives Upstairs,” which introduces kids to classical music and the great composer. Kideos is adjacent to the bookstore at 3457 Telegraph Road in Ventura.

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You’ll be Auntie Mame and the children will feel like Dorothy in the land of Oz if you take advantage of the hundreds of adventures described in “Santa Barbara With Kids” by Susan Cann, which includes terrific things to do in Ventura County. Are you aware of the Painted Pony Country Store and Petting Farm in Santa Paula, or the tornado-in-a-bottle exhibit at the Gull Wings Children’s Museum in Oxnard? Both places are available for birthday parties. Whale watching, banana jungles, art and music festivals and junior horse shows are just a few of the free or inexpensive activities in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties that are described in detail in this illustrated guidebook. Published by Chaparral Press of Santa Barbara, the guide is available in bookstores for $10.95 or call 965-3751.

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When it comes to shopping there are two kinds of people: the shopper who brags about how much an item costs and the rest of us, who crow about getting a bargain. So I eagerly thumbed through “Buying Retail Is Stupid” by Trisha King-Crumley, Deborah Newmark and Bonnie Cunningham. The directory covers Southern California and includes goods and services offered at discount prices all over Ventura County, from a clothing factory outlet in Simi Valley to home furnishings in Oxnard. The guide is $16.95 in bookstores or available at a discount from the authors. Send $13.95 to “Buying Retail,” P.O. Box 872, Tarzana, Calif. 91357.

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Andy Siegel, independent producer for Aaron Spelling, will offer tips on “How to Write for Television.” The workshop will be given from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Dec. 5 at UCSB Ventura Center, 3585 Maple St. For details, call 893-3351.