233. REVISED Becker MN Public Library , Great River Regional Libraries

[NOTE: The revision is that pictures have been added; see below.]

This library is located within a community center building and very close to the public school. Of the libraries I've visited, this one is probably the most kid-centered. There is a modest collection of adult fiction and non-fiction, and of course patrons have ready access to all of the Great River Regional Libraries resources. But still, Becker is ready for the kids to arrive, with  early literacy, school age, and teen areas spread out along the windows.

I have said that every library I visit has something I've never seen before in a library. In this case, that "something" is a prehistoric bison skeleton named Samuel. This skeleton, I believe, was discovered on land nearby and assembled by the husband of a former librarian. (Please, if my notes are inaccurate, add a comment and set the record straight.)

The connection between the library and the school was affirmed by several displays of children's art work, including ceramics and graphics in several media. Also meeting the needs of the after-school crowd, one table is designated as an OK place to eat a snack. The only other place I've seen this accommodation was in Weare, NH.

I enjoyed seeing a rack of paperback "honor books," which can be read and returned without checking them out. I've seen this once before, I think in Ontario last summer.

Very friendly staff here, and I bought a nice stack of paperback kids' books for next Halloween from the sale rack by the door.

The batteries in my camera quit just as I arrived here. For more about this library, go to http://www.griver.org/locations-and-hours/great-river-regional-library-becker. And I promise I will go back and get a picture of the bison one of these days.


4/12/2014   car  with NJ

Library to the left, community center to the right.

 

Every library needs a focal point...like a 10,000-year-old bison skeleton!