471 Kress Family Library, De Pere, Wisconsin

The final stop on an 11-day trip was here in De Pere, Wisconsin. close by Green Bay. This is one branch of the Brown County Library. The other is the Weyers-Hilliard Library, covered in my last post. I did not make it to the central library. A prominent sign celebrates 125 years of the Brown County Library, 1889-2014. The history of the library, available at the Brown County Library website (http://www.browncountylibrary.org), gives a timeline of the library from 1889 to 2007, as it added and shed branches, relocated, gained and lost buildings. In 1903 it was the first Carnegie library in Wisconsin.

OK, that was information that perhaps should have waited until I got to the central library, but who knows when that will be?

The Kress Family Branch opened in 2003.

I believe there are a total of 16 public Internet computers, spread out in two locations. Like Weyers-Hilliard, Kress also has "Think Tank" study rooms; I spotted three. I think they have a nice, sleek, no-distractions vibe, and the glass walls allow group work to remain quiet and staff to keep an eye out.

This study area, bright with natural daylight even on a drizzly day, has a mirror image on the other side of the building.

Between the two study areas is a handsome fireplace and a baby grand piano. And patrons scattered throughout, challenging my angle-finding skills, such as they are. Periodicals and newspapers are close by.

The Francis branch of the South Bend, IN, library, also has a piano. There, a sign says "Do you play? If you'd like to play a few pieces, ask at the desk." Here, the sign tells us that the "Piano ... provided by an anonymous donor." Nothing about playing it, or not. I wasn't tempted.

              

Moving away from this casual setting, I came to the adult non-fiction stacks, where I noted that biographies are shelved separately, rather than spread through the collection by topic. Personally, I like shelving them this way.

This large clock caught my eye. I wonder whether it is an antique, or a modern clock made to look antique. Perhaps it is from an earlier library or town building?

Now we come to the children's area, where a very long two-step window seat is well stocked with cushions.

This large program area allows plenty of room for groups of kids, plus various storage options under a long shelf. I enjoyed the octopus on the wall, struggling to keep track of "So Many Books!"

A separate shelf near J non-fiction holds a large collection of books about states and countries. I checked the two New Hampshire titles, and found that they were published in 2010 and 1999/2008. Perhaps the library needs a benefactor with an interest in geography to provide some newer editions? Just sayin' ...

Rover Reader Booster Packs hold books, games, and puppets for various topics. I like "Rover Reader" as a mascot name.

        

Another part of the children's area is brightened by these paper flowers, made and donated by Girl Scout troop 4612. Nice work, girls!

 

Your Library, Your Community, Your World

This "Sustainability Center" promotes recycling books through a book sale. Around the corner to the left I spotted a medal won this past summer by the teens of this branch in a "Battle of the Book" among the various branches. Congratulations! This event involved reading a specified set of books, then answering questions about those books in a trivia contest.

8/26/2017