115. Hudson, WI (MORE Group)

One of the few two-story libraries in my travels so far, Hudson Area Joint Library has a prime location by the river. The first floor has a lobby seating area designated a quiet area, with a sign indicating just what that means (occasional quiet conversation, no cell phones, etc.). There is a small piano or keyboard. Also on the first floor are the computer area, some study rooms, the service counter, and a pop vending machine.

Stairs or an elevator go to the second floor. The stairs are broad, with low rise, very easy to ascend. Upstairs there are two information desks, one in the children's area, one in adults; only the children's was staffed, and a sign on the adult desk directed one there. There is an inviting teen area with funky seating--but no teens on this nice Saturday afternoon.

The Friends' bookstore is large and very well organized. They stock some magazines and have a rack of greeting cards. From the prices on the cards, I'm guessing they've been donated. If so, I applaud this as a way to clear out the cards one buys and never sends, and also make a few extra bucks. There are also some free books, and down a short hallway is a volunteers' workroom and a shelf for donations. I like the idea of a specific place for donations, though a staff person told me that they do still get donations in the book drop--along with those volumes that might be donations or might be books picked up by mistake when collecting the library books at home. A chronic problem in libraries!

Lots of windows look toward the river, a view that is largely screened by leafy trees now. I spotted a small reading porch with just room for a couple of Adirondak-style chairs; very cozy. There are a number of small meeting rooms with policies posted on the door (no money-making activities, like tutoring for pay, for example), and one large oval meeting room.

The entrance to the children's area is dominated by a tall model of the Eiffel tower made of craft sticks, and another made of Legos. There is a reading are with rocking chairs along the west-facing window wall, and a small room for little kids. Another wall has a series of small rooms. The first is for magazines, with at least 13 titles and a couple of beanbag chairs for comfy browsing. The next is for parents or teachers and has a collection of books on special-needs kids, especially those on the autism spectrum. It included a corrugated-cardboard "b-calm" box for "peace within the noise." This seems to be a commercial product, but not one I'm familiar with. (A non-commercial version, 3x3x3 feet with a door and window, painted on the outside to look like a playhouse, is in the main children's area.) A third room is for games, and has a collection of board games and puzzles and a table with a chess/checkers board built in. It also houses many books on cassettes.

There is a history display with booklets for sale. And of course there is a nice walking path along the river, where a father-son team directed me to a fine ice cream place. Great visit.

9/15/12, car

114. Baldwin, WI (MORE Group)

I got here pushed for time, and there was so much to see. In all my visits so far, this is only the second or third place where newspapers are kept on "sticks"--you have to be of a certain age to know what I'm talking about. This library still has audiocassete music tapes and recorded books, and VHS movies; the music tapes are kept in old card catalog drawers. The librarian commented that they are still in demand; she had just shelved three recorded books on audio cassettes. There are bound newspapers and a history room (available for meetings or study), and one corner of a reading area has a poster with a history essay that apparently is changed every few weeks.

Large baskets are used for unwanted books: "Place your unwanted books here, we'll be happy to shelve them."

The children's area has clouds, stars, and other sky phenomena hanging from the ceiling, left from a summer "Dream Big, Read!" reading program. There are lots of puppets, lots of videos, and a big chapter book collection. And the children's program room has a totally cool dragon and castle mural; I think it covered all four walls.

It was close to closing time when I arrived, but the kind and friendly librarian stayed around an extra 10 minutes or more to chat about this library and my project. Thank you!

See those benches in the picture? All libraries should have a couple of benches outside the door.

9/15/12, car

113. New Richmond, WI (MORE group)

You have to love a library that greets you with a display of jokes, comics, and humor books marking "National Smile Month." The building has a number of discrete areas that sort of radiate from the center. The first has plenty of windows, with upholstered chairs and tables with wheeled chairs. This appeared to be a browsing area, with large-print books. A passageway to the teen and children's area passes the restrooms and a windowed workroom for library staff; I like it when patrons can see staff at work! There is also a display of historic photographs, another sign that libraries are often repositories of town history.

The teen area is small but has a bright neon sign to identify it, a slight sense of privacy, soft chairs, and some tall chairs at a counter. It even had a teen patron on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon.

In the children's area I saw a "book fortune teller"--a jar with tongue-depressor sticks, each with a Dewey number. The challenge: pick a stick and choose a book with that number. That would be an easy idea for any library to copy. Two long tables with benches and a sort-of-round table with scooped-out bits (I wish I could sketch in here!) provided some unusual seating. I could imagine a school group or program group using either of these effectively. In addition to the J collection, there are shelves of picture books, bins of board books, and a toy area with dinosaur figures.

Another area has a copy-print-fax station, at least 7 public computers that were being well-used, and Wii games. I think this is the first place outside of Ramsey County that I've seen computer games available, though I may not have noticed them at other sites.

The final area was the stacks, which included some "classic" aisles of books with glass-brick walls at the end.

There's a nice park outside the library, with a ... thing ... that wasn't explained. It seems to have eyes. See second picture.

9/15/12, car

112. Somerset, WI (More Group)

I saw a lot of things that made me think this is a particularly friendly library, including a basket of magnifiers ("Magnifiers available, ask for assistance) and a sign explaining how people who can't get to the library can get books by mail. Nice. Another sign said "Help! We need yours. Be a library volunteer." I also like the one that said "No cell phone use inside. Go outside." Just tell it! Another, in the lobby, said, "Thank you for being respectful. If you choose not to be respectful, here's our policy..." and went on to explain the steps that would be taken. A separate sign defined what is meant by respectful library behavior.

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation has a  sign in the lobby about a Transportation Reading Challenge, for kids up to 10 years old. Read 10 books, each about a different type of transportation, and get some recognition. Neat idea. Somebody tell the MN Dept of Transportation, OK?

The collection looks good for adults and kids (though I don't really study collections, I'm more interested in ambiance).There seem to be a lot of periodicals. There's even a microfilm reader, and you don't find those everywhere these days. I liked a sign in the kids' area that explained "Easy non-fiction has many photos, few words" and pointed out that they are marked with a red dot.

There are 12 labeled bins of toys available for little kids, including various types of blocks and animals. And there must have been a summer project that resulted in an amusing display of "Frankentoys," toys that have been altered in some way.

I was there during the last half hour of a two-day Friends of the Library book sale. The books were well picked-over, but I thoroughly enjoyed the double-chocolate mint cookies from the bake sale table!

9/15/12, car

108. Pepin, Wisconsin (MORE Group)

I visited this library with a friend who summers in Pepin, and it really is a little gem. I should have written this sooner, since the visit was a month ago, but I hope and expect that I will be reminded of any major omissions.

The library is one of the smaller ones I've visited, but it is very welcoming has everything a library needs, and a few special surprises. The surprises include a "totem pole" based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (see picture) and a considerable display of Laura Ingalls Wilder materials, including books in Danish.

Almost all libraries these days have a shelf or cart of books for sale to help support the library, and this one is no exception. In fact, I think there was a cart of books in the entryway, and another in the library proper. Programming includes movie night.

OK, what did I miss?

Oh, I was actually able to get a library card here--but I didn't take out any books.

7/31/12, car