492 Cuyahoga County Public Library, Berea Branch, Berea, Ohio

Well, I didn't do a very good job of getting the Library sign, did I? The sun was very bright and I was having trouble seeing through the viewfinder. Or maybe I just messed up.

Berea is the home of my undergraduate education, at Baldwin-Wallace College. They call themselves "University" now, for some reason, but that's not the school I went to.

I'm not sure I even knew there was a public library in Berea when I was in college...it is sort of tucked away from the campus. And of course, as a student I had plenty of reading to do without seeking out more!.

Finding the library was a bit of a trick, mostly because I had parked near the edge of the campus and so I approached from an unhelpful direction. But find it I did, and I only had to ask for directions once.

A sign at the door said that RTA passes and farecards are sold here, a fine convenience and something I haven't seen anywhere else. Of course, many of the libraries I've visited are in communities too small to have much, or any, public transit.

Just inside the door was another first, a tool donation station for Habitat for Humanity.

The service desk, not pictured, is the first place you come to when entering. Nearby are racks of new books.

There are three glass-walled study rooms along the left side. Study tables are nearby, with one reserved for Passport Use Only, with applications and informational material. Another "first. A glass-walled room at the end of the building is designated as a quiet study area. Elsewhere in the library there are 16 computers for use by patrons, and an array of study tables.

   

It seems as if more than usual of the libraries visited on this trip have aquaria. Like this one, they always seem to be very well maintained.

Adult fiction is in stacks and wall shelves along the right wall. Genre labels include Urban Graphic, Inspirational, Westerns, Mystery, and Romance with two sub-groups, Harlequin Series and Love Inspired Series.

One section of the wall shelves presented me with a puzzle. A sign announced "The Great American Read, 100 books, one winner. OK, I get that. And there were multiple copies of books on these shelves. But none of the books were on the "100 books" list. I should have asked about that. Perhaps someone will leave a comment and clear up the mystery.

And now we come to the children's area. I noticed a very detailed "Rules of Conduct" sign next to a "Rub-a-Dub" bin for toys that need to be cleaned. The blue structure shown below has three two-sided panels, allow for explorations by a lot of kids at the same time. Bins of picture books define the play space for little kids.

First Readers are close by, followed by J fiction and non-fiction.

There are racks of CDs, multiple bookpacks, and sets of Playaway audio and book sets in large containers. There are at least 12 periodical titles for kids, presented in the neat plexiglass boxes that are becoming more and more common. Three Internet computers are available for kids, and research can also be done in the 2018 World Book encyclopoedia (Reference) or the 2017 edition (circulating),

Finally, this cityscape bench in the lobby caught my eye as I left.

 I wonder if today's college...oops, sorry, university students find their way to this library, or if they limit themselves to Ritter Library on campus.

8/15/2018