493 Weston Public Library, Weston, Ohio

With my map spread out (yes, a paper map of the eastern United States is the first step in my route planning) I looked for a town with a library in just the right place. Weston caught my eye, probably because that was my father's name. It turned out to be a fine choice.

I had sought and received permission to take pictures and had just begun my stroll around the library when the librarian offered to show me the "history room." Many libraries have historical displays; some share space with history societies and museums. Here in Weston, an amazing array of historical materials are in a good-sized storeroom. The first thing, you can't miss it, is this handsome desk with the glass-fronted shelves. What's on those shelves is even better. On display are the library tools used at this library in a by-gone day: a rack of date stamps, an adding machine, devices for putting Dewey numbers on book spines, and more. Some of these remind me of tools I used when I started working as a library page at age 15, a  long time ago!

Once the people of a town know that the library has historic artifacts, interesting material keeps showing up. Among the treasures are high school yearbooks going back many years. My notes are little sketchy here; I was sure I'd remember what was on the shelves, but I was mostly wrong. I do remember a ten-pin bowling ball, however!

Many of the libraries I visited on this trip were housed in former residences, with lots of separate rooms, plenty of nooks and crannies. Weston's library is a tidy rectangle, with shelves and tables in neat arrays.

This is just part of the mural in the children's area. There are other familiar book characters to the right and left. Picture books in general have no indicator on the spine, though some say "Easy." All are shelved together. A section of chapter books is labeled "J Paperbacks." One surprise on the J shelves was a bunch of small-format comics, like "Garfield" and "Family Circus," that have been professionally bound into hardback books. Good idea! I know from experience that these books are very popular and prone to wearing out.

Here is the technological heart of the library. The blue "box" to the right is a three-D printer. The computer in the foreground is a "Sprout" station; among other things, it can be used to design objects that are then sent to the printer. The librarian explained that they try to keep up with the technology available at the local public schools.

Several carrells hold computers for patrons to use.

A room at the back appears to be a meeting room, and also a staff break room. I spotted some cookies in the background...there must be a meeting coming up.

Beyond the children's area are large print, paperbacks, and non-fiction in stacks, with fiction along the walls. All of the paperbacks are shelved together.

This open area with light-weight furniture can be used for many purposes. My favorite that I heard about required setting up the available "banquet tables" in this space, for an excellent reason. The school district received a grant to serve lunch to local kids during the summer. This in itself is not unusual; many, perhaps most, libraries are participating in programs like this. But in Weston, they are serving hot lunches, prepared and delivered by the schools. These are available for anyone up to age 18, no questions asked. How many hot lunches? Typically 80 to 120, between here and a smaller branch library, in a town of about 1600 population. Imagine setting up for lunch service for that many kids each day, then cleaning up and putting the tables away. What a wonderful collaboration between the schools and the library. Kudos to the Weston Public Library for taking this on.

8/16/2018