487 Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield's Public Library, Pittsfield, Massachusetts

With the classy, classic name "Athenaeum" I expected a classic building, but let us not judge a book...er, library...by its cover. This library has everything you would expect, and a bit more.

There is an on-going book sale in the lobby. There are also racks of brochures with lists of books, like "Chick Lit" and "Cozy Mysteries" and many others. Such material is not unusual, but the number of different lists indicate that someone is doing a lot of work to prepare these.

Past the brochures and around to the left is an area that looks like it might be a coffee shop, but there was no sign of coffee. This area holds the periodical collection. It also had several people reading, precluding pictures of the area.

There is a display of books, articles, letters, and other material honoring Pittsfield's contribution to World War Two. Nearby is a display titled "Pittsfield Legacy of Caring," where patrons have chosen colored paper forms, written "Thanks" to people who have been kind to them, and posted the notes.

I thought I had a nice over-all picture of the first floor of the library, but the rule is "no people in the pictures," and when I went to add the picture here, I discovered a little cluster of people in one corner. You'll have to take my word for it that the ceiling is handsome and the enlarged photos handing on the balcony are effective and interesting. The central area holds round tables with chairs, stairs to the upper level are in the open, and the wall on the left is all windows. The non-fiction stacks are here, along with about sixteen computers for public use.

The Teen area is around to the right front corner. A sign near here indicates that ukuleles can be checked out. I've heard that ukuleles are a current "thing," in fact I think the Newport, New Hampshire Library has a ukulele club. But I think this is the first library where I've seen them available for loan.

I'm aware of the Perkins School, certainly, but this is the first library where I've seen a display of the various types of material they make available. One sign points out that one does not need to be blind in order to qualify for some of these materials.

The most common re-use I see for card catalog drawers is "Seed Catalog." The note here says that there are no more seeds for this season, come back next year.

The note does not say that you should play table games until next season arrives, but...well, you could.

The children's area is downstairs. When I arrived, a large group of school-aged children was in the process of getting organized to leave. They seemed to be a nice group, creating only a normal amount of chaos, but the sound level certainly dropped when they were out the door! I chatted with the librarians about everything they are learning by making a library visit, not just about reading but also about social skills.

As in many libraries this summer the reading program theme has been "Libraries Rock." One was this was expressed here was with all of the music notes posted on the windows.

This corner of the children's room looks out on a reading garden. It was closed when I was there, possibly because of the rain that has been very common here lately.

Or perhaps it was closed to keep us all safe from the resident dinisaur! It looks just right for riding, and I hope that is allowed when the door is open.

Although it is in the lower level, the space is very bright, as this general view shows. 

8/13/2018