94. Hennepin County, Minnetonka

A light, bright program area looked as if it could be configured for kids' or adults' programs. The kids' area had three computers, a thick binder of Read Write Draw pages, a separate fairly tale section (I like that), bins of E books and shelves of J books. I noticed that there were children's books in both Spanish and Chinese; I forgot to ask whether these are home languages, or languages that they would study in school.

Anyone who has read many of these entries will know that I was happy to see a curved window area that looked out into trees! And in the paperback fiction area, I liked a modest sign that said "Please ask for a bookmark, don't bend down pages." A small, colorful teen room was occupied by an older man with his laptop; I didn't spot any teens during this mid-afternoon visit. Well, maybe one, at one of the dozen or so computers.

The reference desk has that "I can help you..." sign that I'm fond of. Must get "my" library to put up one of those! Staff told me that this branch is known for its large collection of movies, and because of its location it handles a lot of requests and returns.

I think I could have come here by bus--I saw a Metro Transit sign not too far down the road after I left--but the Route Finder on line said no. Perhaps I'll try it another day, and try some of the nearby trails.

8/16/12, car

70. Hennepin County, Ridgedale, Minnetonka

 This place is BIG, and it shares space with other county services.

First issue: the bus stop, coming from the east, is across the street in the middle of a "block." There needs to be at least a painted pedestrian crossing and a sign. A man crossing with me (on crutches) said that a few years ago he saw a woman "tossed in the air" by a passing car here.

Everything in the library seems designed to foster learning in young kids: count the 30 stairs, B is the letter of the week for story hour, maps, greetings in various languages, suggestions to parents or caregivers. Two little girls were having blast pretending to fish in a "pond" laminated on the floor in the kids' area. Hard to mention everything I saw here, but I especially liked the computers dedicated to Homework Helper during the year, and set aside for teens over the summer. (No teens were using them, but still....) One computer in another area bore the sign "Workstation reserved for volunteer computer tutor." Large "quiet study room." Good light; I think the tall windows on the left in the picture are in the kids' area. World maps in several sizes and locations; I totally approve of that! More and more.

7/30/12, bus