118. Great River, Buffalo

I arrived a few minutes before opening, so I took a walk on a paved path beside the lake. There's something very nice about a library next to a body of water, IMO. And we have plenty of them in Minnesota. Walking by the lake gave me a good look up at the library, at a large window wall with some stained glass. Unfortunately, it doesn't show up in the picture. You'll just have to go see it for yourself.

As I walked in the front door, the first things I noticed were a set of Eric Carle-style pictures of elephants, and an invitation to "talented kids" to "plan and present puppet shows." Going inside, I saw the puppet theater right away. It's rather modern-looking, in a very nice way; a couple of youngsters were already busy with puppets, though the library had only been open for about 5 minutes. The puppet theater is in a room with all the pictures books, which are in wheeled bins that can be moved aside for programs--like puppet shows.

Children's materials are shelved in the "main room," away from the picture books and puppets. I'll hazard a guess that this helps the bigger kids feel grown-up; sort of like the sense I got at Big Lake.

The library has DVDs and CDs, of course, but also has VHS and books on cassette. I really appreciated the books on cassette, because I needed to read (listen to) Tuck Everlasting for a children's lit course, and there it was. I finished both cassettes in the car.

There is a quiet reading room with periodicals and upholstered chairs; it's partially glassed-in, so it's truly quiet, but not isolated. There are a couple of mid-sized meeting rooms, and a row of soft chairs along the window wall that faces the lake.

Because a door was open, I was able to see a spacious workroom for staff. Enviable. Hint, hint to those planning changes where I work! I also spotted a puzzle exchange, something I haven't seen at any other library.

A book sale was going on, and I bought a nice selection of kids' paperbacks for 25 cents each, which I will use for Halloween. [Grinch that I am, I give school supplies and books instead of candy.]

10/19/2012, car