After checking in at my motel, I asked the GPS to take me to the library. It had me approach from the side, so my first picture is of the "back" or "lower" doorway (under the pink/red canopy). The children's area is on the lower level, but I went up to the front door to enter. We'll start there.
The front facade features a tapered stone wall and careful landscaping.
The entrance is welcoming and sheltered; benches on either side of the walk are memorials. The yellow sign indicates that this is a "Safe Place." An Andrew Carnegie plaque in the lobby clues us in that Peru had a Carnegie library. I talked to the Director and learned that the Carnegie was built in 1910. We agreed that Carnegie libraries cannot always evolve gracefully into buildings that meet today's needs. Here in Peru, the "new" library was built in 1985.
A room just inside from the lobby holds the Friends of the Library bookstore. One thing I don't recall seeing in other library bookstores is comic books for sale. I didn't buy comic books, but I did get a nice stack of gently used children's books for next Halloween, including some board books for the youngest trick-or-treaters.
By the way, eating is allowed in the lobby only, and those eating are asked to clean the area when they are done.
Welcome, teens! The teen space has lots of manga and anime, hinting at why the bookstore has so many for sale. It also has plenty of fiction, and a modest collection of non-fiction. [Teens, of course, may also use the adult non-fiction section, and in many libraries they are shelved together.] Shelves beyond the tall table hold table games, including my favorite, Apples to Apples; the blue chairs in the foreground face a large flat screen TV for viewing or gaming. There were also coloring sheets with elaborate designs, and a large bin of colored pencils.
This was one of the busiest libraries I've visited...busiest at the time of my visit, that is. Behind the genealogy shelves to the right, a full house crowd was enjoying a presentation by a costumed actress. Study tables are visible in the back, by the windows, and to the side. Adult fiction is shelved to the right, non-fiction to the left. I asked about a couple of old-looking tables in the non-fiction area and my hunch was confirmed: they originally were in the Carnegie library. Nice "recycling"!
Before heading downstairs, there is one feature I came here looking for. The library's website mentioned comic books, often anathema to public libraries. Here, they are on display in sets protected by plastic envelopes. Reading is reading, and I expect these are a welcome draw for reluctant readers.
OK, on to the children's area. Of the three ways to approach, elevator, stairs, or around to the side of the building, I chose the stairs. Although this space is partially below grade, there is a fine sense of airiness and light. The picture book area includes a floor-level whiteboard. Perhaps those benches also came from the Carnegie building?
The "pond and bridge" rug invites creative play. I wonder if the bridge is ever used to act out "Three Billy Goats Gruff"?
The castle seems very sturdy, but just in case the Vandals attack, it is guarded by a very tall dragon!
The children's librarian was preparing props for a "Star Wars Day," and the books had already been placed on display.
8/17/2017
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