489 Olean Public Library, Olean, New York

Here we go again.... Somehow, somewhere between the camera and the blog a picture will be rotated. I'm working on a solution and will replace the affected pictures when I figure it out.

To the left as you enter is the children's area. These two rugs lining one row in the stacks really caught my eye. There are some pillows down at the end, just waiting for a kid to come curl up with a book.

Shelves and furniture define the area for toddler play. That's a bright rug hanging on the wall; the "bugs" have velcro that allows them to be stuck anywhere on the rug. When I was there, a dad was lifting his youngster so the child could move some bugs. After that, he got a large stuffed dog down from a shelf so the kid could snuggle on it. Nice interaction. Nearby is a large collection of parenting materials, including books and media.

There are two rows of "Easy Fiction," also known as chapter books. There are also plenty of picture books, of course. It appears that E and J non-fiction are shelved together, with a good-sized E on the spine of the picture books. I've noticed that it's difficult these days to decide whether a non-fiction book with large pages and many pictures should be E or J. Many non-fiction books for kids may look like picture books, but have large amounts of text or are written in a way that would only be appropriate for school-age children. It's often a tough call; I think that intershelving the two levels is part of a reasonable solution.

This crayon-shaped device is a Krayon Kiosk, a center with three iPads with programming for kids two through eight. The third iPad is on the far side, with a small boy totally engrossed in some game. I never saw one of these before!

This row of double chairs with tables between them runs down the center of the adult section of the library. Periodicals line this area. They subscribe to QST, a ham radio magazine that I haven't seen for ages. There is an aquarium down by the windows. The usual major newspapers are available, and there are also issues of eight to twelve "small town" and special interest papers; more than usual, I think.

I don't come across many libraries these days that are still circulating VHS tapes. There aren't very many of them left, and I'm guessing that the library is doing as others have done: circulate them until they break, because...why not?

I also spotted some older, classic books in the collection that have been re-bound. Such books are not common these days, but I did see them, just a few, at one other library on this trip. The ones I spotted were biographies of Captain Kidd and the Kennedys.

There are about a dozen computers for patrons to use, as well as desks for laptops or study. Large print books are shelved along the walls, while reference, YA, and fiction are in the stacks. There seems to be an extra large collection of biographies. Paperbacks are on the large spinners you see here.

I like this table that has been laminated (or maybe decoupaged?) with cutouts from comic books.

Framed art prints are availble for loan. These used to be more common; I rarely see art for loan these days.

On my way out through the lobby I noticed that the library has an on-going food drive. In the three month period of March, April, and May, they collected 353.4 pounds of food.

Is Autumn coming? I spotted these colored leaves on the ground by my car. Oddly, there weren't any colored leaves on the tree, just green ones. It's a little early to see colored leaves, but I'm sure ready for cool, crisp weather.

8/14/2018