273. Newark, New York

This is a dual-purpose building that houses both the public library and the Hoffman Clock Museum. I arrived here quite close to closing time, so I barely peeked into the clock museum and saved my time for the library.

The high windows all around suggested to me that this might be a Carnegie library, but it is not. Rather, the library was a gift to the village from Henry Rew (1839 - 1912). The many large, antique vases that grace the tops of shelves are believed by current staff to have also come from Mr. Rew.

The main floor houses the adult collections and a study room dedicated to the memory of Fayetta Hall. There are eight public computers, DIY coffee, and a full-size rural mailbox for suggestions. Lots of varied seating areas are spread throughout this level.

Downstairs houses the teen and children's areas. The teens have two "diner booths," other varied seating, table games, an Internet computer and one for the library catalog, and magnetic poetry, in addition to books and media. The children's area is surprisingly large and also has two computers. There is a bright, toy-filled area for toddlers, with a sign "Parents: Please encourage children to clean up..." The parents who were there that day must not have been the encouraging sort, and the staff had quite a tidying job ahead! Base plates for both Duplo and regular LEGO blocks are mounted vertically on the walls, allowing a different sort of building than is usually seen, a very creative and space-saving idea. The staff person I talked to explained that this lower level has recently been renovated, and is still in a state of "settling in."

For more about this library, visit their blog at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Charlevoix-Public-Library/71975118940 or their website at http://www.newarklibrary.org/. They also have a Facebook presence at https://www.facebook.com/NewarkNYPublicLibrary.

8/5/2014, car