Thursday, August 27, 2015

360. Arlington Public Library, Arlington, MN

The Arlington library, as you can see below, is tucked tidily between two other businesses on the main street. The summer reading program had a motivational angle that was new to me: it encouraged young readers to "light up the city." The front wall, including the windows, was decked with black paper silhouettes of city buildings. For each book read, a "window" was lighted with a yellow rectangle including the book title and the reader's name or initials. I was told that this program was led by a teacher from the local school.
 
A table in the central area of the library was full of jars in which monarch butterflies are being hatched for release. Each chrysalis had a name. I learned that several have been released and there is one more to go. [Sadly, not all hatched successfully.]
 
In the browsing area by the media collection an old wooden tool box is being used to display DVDs, a  nice juxtaposition of the old and the new. Further back by the adult non-fiction, reference, and recorded books, two easy chairs await patrons who want to sit for a while.
 
The top of a filing cabinet holds a display of six editions of Carle's "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" in various formats and languages.
 
There are eight computers for patrons to use; a sign advises that there is to be NO printing unless you talk to the librarian first. I suspect that this rule is a cousin to the policies I've seen elsewhere advising patrons to use "Print Preview" before printing.
 
The library's website is http://arlingtonlibrary.tdslib.org/.
 
8/26/2015, car
 
 
A child's bicycle, unlocked, is a sure sign of a small-town library.

I've never seen this approach to a summer reading program.
I like it!


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