I set out on this gray, drizzly day to find a small cluster of libraries about 50 miles from home. My first stop was Centuria, WI, in a downtown storefront. The drizzle couldn't stand up to the bright yellow paint job on this small library! I received a friendly greeting as soon as I entered, explained my project, and wandered around. The children's area is a modest corner, but has a nice selection of books. In fact, I spotted two of interest that I've not seen before, and have requested them from the libraries I use, one from Hennepin County and one from St. Paul. Toward the end of my visit I chanced to look up at the ceiling and noticed that the plastic panel over the lights in the kids area is blue, with white clouds! Panels are available at big-box hardware stores, I was told.
The library has several computers and a scanner and printer. The book collection is small but the librarian tries to keep current with a clever system of dots on the spines. When she began here, patrons would sometimes comment on the lack of current books. So she placed a red dot on the spine of every book or AV material added to the collection that year. The next year it was a blue dot--each year a new color is used. These dots make it easy to shelve the new books together, shows patrons how much is being added, and aids in weeding. I mentioned this system at another library and the person I was speaking to thought it was quite a clever idea. So do I! [And of course, patrons have access to the entire collection of the MORE group of libraries in Wisconsin, and those further away through interlibrary loan.]
Favorite sign: "Cutting libraries in a recession is like cutting hospitals in a plague," attributed to Eleanor Crumblehulme. I thought that name was a joke; it's not. Google her!
Although this library is one of the smallest I've visited, it has a lot to see. Go to http://www.centurialibrary.org/ and try the video tour; the area that looks like a dining room/kitchen in a private home is really there; it's used for literacy classes and other meetings!
10/30/2013, car
Your travels to these libraries is enlightening! I think the media should cover your coverage of them. Indeed, Ms. Crumblehulme is right. We need libraries now more than ever!
ReplyDeleteI don't know about that media stuff, LJ. I'm just having fun with various serendipitous experiences that come out of this, like one ongoing now involving my visit to Sioux Falls, SD, a volunteer at Minneapolis Central Library, the First Friday lectures at Andersen library at the U of M, and (potentially) a librarian at the Landscape Arboretum. I'm just having fun.
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