408 Bayfield WI Carnegie Library

The Carnegie library in Bayfield is located high on a hill, clearly built in pre-ADA times. There is access to the main floor from the right, however. Other than that, it's quite intimidating:

There is one set of steps:

Then another set of steps:

But as I said, there is an alternative. And that second set of steps has a very good handrail.

Go back to the second picture and look at the smaller windows between the columns. These windows are in two small rooms, each one set up with three computers. This seems like a good use of these small spaces (which are quite common in Carnegie libraries). To the right of the entrance, beyond the computer room, there are couches and a long table, close to periodicals and newspapers, all set for browsing. Or, if browsing isn't on your mind, there is a fancy chess set of polished and matte crystal pieces, all set up and ready to go. The windowsill holds Bayfield yearbooks back at least to 1953. A brick fireplace with birch logs is probably for show these days. The rest of this space holds the non-fiction collection.

A separate shelf holds the nautical collection, labeled and with a model sailboat on top. Even with a sign and a boat, I would have missed this if the librarian had not pointed it out. Good thing I'm nearing the end of my trip!

To the left of the entrance, past the second computer room, is the fiction collection. This includes graphic novels (classified 741.5) and four glass-front bookcases of science fiction, Other shelves hold large print, inspirationsl, romance, mysteries, westerns, YA books, and just plain fiction. Media is shelved behind the circulation desk, but is freely available. Two posters I like are "It's Our Water... Protect It," from greatlakes.org, and one that offers suggestions on "How to Build a Community."

To reach the lower level you go through a small anteroom by the side door and down the stairs. This level holds the children's collections plus toys and a few surprises. A couple of easy chairs face a rack of comics and grapphic novels (like the graphic versions of Nany Drew). There are some backpacks labeled 1000 Books Before Kindergarten, but I did not see any of the usual literature about this program. Tucked on a low shelf are two Montessori "graduated cylinders" manipulatives.

Of course, what one can't miss is the large, apparently much-loved dollhouse. A sign says that "Having this dollhouse in the Bayfield Library is a privilege. Please treat it with respect." This sign is on a flat part of the roof, along with a few bits and pieces that need to be glued back in place. It happens; you can't play with a dollhouse (or live in a real house, for that matter) without things happening.

Behind the dollhouse is one final surprise, a very unusual reading nook. It is enclosed with woodwork that makes it look as if it might have been part of a pulpit in an early church. What a geat place this would be to curl up with a favorite book on an inclement day!

http://www.bayfieldlibrary.org/ 5/21/2016