First, outside. There is ample parking, but instead of a massive rectangle of cars, it is divided into several landscaped bays. Different parts of the grounds are linked by curving sidewalks and a circular driveway at the entrance allows easy pick-up and drop-off.
Notice the tower; we'll come back to it later.
A meeting room off the lobby was humming with a meeting that involved ... sewing machines! A display case held baseball memorabilia that I was too uninformed about baseball to appreciate, but it looked to me like there were some very special items there.
After getting permission for pictures, I started my wandering around. First, I noticed that the automated book return offers receipts, like the ones in St. Paul. It's a very nice feature, expecially for anyone who has had "claims rturned" issues in the past.
Next, I came to the Scan and Fax Station shown below. Here you can "Convert books, documents, photos, to PDF, Word, or JPEG. While I stood here scribbling in my notebook, a young man on staff came over to offer help. Although I did not need help (if I'd planned to use this station, I certainly would have!) I saw this as a great example of staff being alert to library users and their potential needs and responding proactively.
There are four of these wooden tables with white lamps in the center of the library, and all of the chairs have these attractive designs in the back. Tables, reading lamps, chairs, have been library staples since Carnegie's time or earlier. Little touches like these give a sense of tradition and continuity, without in any way looking old-fashioned.
There are a couple of these nooks that allow a person to curl up in moderate privacy with a book or device...note the electrical outlets. To the left is the mirror image of this space.
A fireplace is almost an essential in modern libraries, it seems. Whether wood-burning or gas, real or decorative, they provide a welcoming focal point for "living room" settings. Other clusters provide outside views. I like the contrast, which I didn't notice until I was assembling the pictures for this post, between the "light" fireplace area and the darker area on the right. This is probably part of the reason this library seems designed for everyone; there is such a variety here.
The metal pull-out shelves for CDs are very practical, but a bit surprising among all of the wooden furnishing.
I like maps, so I was surprised and delighted to see these tables in the children's area. These two show Middle Earth and Narnia. Two others show the Winnie the Pooh woods and Hogwarts. What can I say? They are wonderful!
If you go back to the very first picture, you'll see a round tower. Now we are in/under that tower, looking up. I'm showing this picture extra-large so you can see the owl overhead and the rabbits gamboling on the wooded path below. It's quite magical.
Remember the reading alcoves over in the adult area? Kids get something similar on either side of this circular area. Circles certainly do rule here!
Now I'm going to back up a little bit. There is an enclosed place for reading, using devices, and snacking...it even has a vending machine. It's also popular, so no picture.
Through that area and there is another very private-feeling reading area, with wicker furniture and a sign "Patio is Open." [And a patron; no picture.] I went outside, surprised that nobody else was there; it was a beautiful day. Here there are paths, gardens, benches, more circles, a paved area that looks a little like a sundial (but I didn't spot a gnomon. [I took a picture, but it's totally fuzzy.]
I'm often asked, "Which is your favorite library?" I truly do not have a favorite--how to choose between a tiny storefront staffed by devoted volunteers, on the one hand, and the Minneapolis Central library that I use so often, on the other?
But if I were to try to choose a favorite, German Branch of South Bend would be right up at the top of the list.
8/18/2017
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Sorry about the "verification" step; I added it after a rash of spammish comments.