537 Derry Public Library, Derry, New Hampshire

 I felt like a trip to the southeast corner of New Hampshire, and I discovered that the Derry Public Library is fully open. And it was a beautiful day for a drive.

After my visit and the drive home, I imported all my pictures from camera to laptop to blog. Surprise: They came in, but in  reverse order. So be it; I just don't feel like figuring this out, or re-importing. So we'll start here by the door. Although the library is open, curbside pickup is still available for those who prefer it. Privacy for those using curbside is handled in different ways by various libraries. Here, if you have a single book it will be wrapped in brown paper with your name on the spine. 

If you're getting multiple books, they'll be in a nice anonymous plastic bag.

My pictures all have to be people-free. Getting this shot of the circulation desk was a trick. This is part of the newer building. The older building is in the background.

The children's area is on the lower level and is very large. I like this guide to selecting books, and I hadn't seen one for a while, so I'll put it here.

Series books are available in abundance, and it's easy to find the series you want with these nice blue shelf markers. I have known people who look down on series books. They may be the same people who have favorite authors and can't wait the the next book in a *gasp* series. I think the familiarity of series books must be a great relief to emerging readers.

It won't be long now and this new patio outside the children's area will be ready for readers and baskers.

Child patrons have been in short supply during this pandemic year, but in most libraries the seasonal markers have kept up and are just waiting for the kids to return. Which will happen when the toys and manipulatives are again available, I would guess.

The puppet theater and the play table look lonely.

Good words for adults as well as kids.

A chair waiting for a reader...

...and a nice pictured carpet waiting for a criss-cross-applesauce audience.

The One-Thousand Books Before Kindergarten is clearly an active program here.

Spring Showers, Read for Hours...definitely my approach. 

The children's area has several computers and a good collection of activity bags along the wall.

Remember that the pictures are in reverse order. So now we'll pretend that we have walked backwards up the stairs and arrived near the adult computers and printers. I didn't get a picture of the sign, but there were instructions for the printer and copier that were so clear, I think even I could follow them!

The library is situated in a large park, which means that there are good views from many locations.

This corner is part of the Teen area. Two tables, that I bet were once in the original part of the library, have been pushed together and covered with heavy Plexiglass. All sorts of inspirational or simply interesting items, selected jointly by kids and librarians, are in a changing display.

The curved set of windows looks in on the media area. And another one of the historic tables, perhaps?

Most libraries I've visited have extensive collections of cookbooks, but the Derry folks have a particularly large array. And this is the only library where I've seen cookbooks with their own unique chef's hat stickers!

A "World Languages" section caught my eye. I'm accustomed to libraries in the Twin Cities (Minneapolis and St. Paul) and their suburbs, where there are many immigrants and "world languages" generally means modest collections of fiction and non-fiction for those who like to read in their first, not English, language. Here it means sets of books and other material for learning a language other than English. You can dive into German, French, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese, Latin, Greek, Arabic, Japanese, and Hebrew.

The title of this poem caught my eye. There are some years when November really does seem to last until April!

There are several small study rooms in the newer part of the library. In deference to COVID-19, they are being used to store furniture that is off limits for a while to minimize the need for cleaning.

These computers give access to the library catalog. In order to maintain social distancing of six feet, only one of them is currently in use.

A different view of one of the study rooms.

I first saw periodical display/storage units like these in a new Minneapolis library a few years ago. They provide a slot on the front for the current issue and a box on the back for back issues. I find them very attractive and practical.

The fireplace in the background is a big clue that we are in the older part of the building. And here is another one of those classic tables.

The picture of the girl reading, and the three plaques, are from the library centennial, which was celebrated in 2005.

Another view of the parkland.

The newer building is in the foreground, the older one is in back on the left. There is parking on the left and handicapped parking at the bottom of the ramp on the right.

Here's the view I should have started with...

...and one more view of the landscaped park grounds. 

4/24/2021