Friday, May 31, 2013

159. Simcoe Branch of Norfolk Public Library, Ontario, Canada

With this post the blog is truly international. (Whistler, BC, is in here, but my sister made that visit.)

Simcoe is a Depository Library for government documents. One of the first things I spotted was a sign at the librarian's desk, "Ask me! Happy to help. Your library, online, all the time. www.ncpl.ca." Nice. There is a Coffee Corner with tables and chairs that looked very inviting.

The part of the building where I entered houses fiction. Another part, perhaps an addition as it was set off by a brick wall with arched doorways, housed non-fiction of all levels. There are a lot of public computers and a corner for reference, audio, and media. I noticed that requested books on hold are paper-wrapped for privacy.

Flyers advertised the official launch of the Teens Write for Fun! contest.

Upstairs and to the left is an area for "young adults and youth." This area holds young adult books and also what I think of as "J" fiction; I think that here this may mean "upper elementary" or middle school. An interesting feature is a series of small, low-walled cubicles formed of glass bricks, each with a table and two chairs. Tutoring? Socializing? They look nice, in any case. Sadly, there is a sign that reads "Because of vandalism this area is being monitored." This is certainly not the only place where I have seen such signs (see Waite Park, MN, for example), but they are always a bit disheartening.

A Literacy Room holds big old oak tables and chairs. Books are available in French, Spanish, German, Hungarian, Italian, and Dutch. There is also a mental health and wellness collection.

Moving through the literacy room, I passed jigsaw puzzles in boxes, the Canadiana Room, and a book sale. Books sales, whether a separate room or a single cart, are ubiquitous these days.

To the right at the top of the stairs is Kidzone. In this area are two half-round tables, the kind schools use for small group work. These have been placed facing a window that overlooks the main level of the library. Picture books are on low shelves with sloping tops, good for opening and reading large books.

For more information, go to http://www.ncpl.ca/.

5/29/2013, car

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