109. Great River Library System, St. Michael

This library shares a building with City Hall and a Senior Center, a good use of space. It is two years old. I was able to have my St. Paul library card entered into the Great River Library System; I knew that I could, but I was still pleasantly surprised.

There is a sort of rubberized flooring in the kids' area; soft to land on, easy to clean, I think. I like the sign that says "Finished with your books? Please place them here for re-shelving." Polite but direct; there were books in the designated spot, and I didn't see any lying around, so perhaps it actually works!

There are tons of CD/book sets hanging in baggies, and they have many series books, including some series I'm not familiar with--and I thought I was familiar with a lot. I didn't see any computers in the kids' area, except one for the catalog. I have no objection to this. Let 'em read books!

There are many large windows throughout. In the adult area, the carpet is a nice green and has a pattern that makes me think of nature. There were at least seven public computers, and room for more. The shelves with wheels in the teen area look  as if they would make that space very flexible. In two places the adults have comfortable chairs arranged around low tables, very nice for browsing, and there are tables for study and laptop use. They even still have books on audio cassettes, which I must remember for next summer's road trip.

8/27/12, car

The library is on the left in the upper picture, on the right in the lower.