561 Tracy Memorial Library, New London, New Hampshire

I hadn't been to New London in a very long time, and my last reason to be here was for the birth of my daughter, more than half a century ago. It must have been a college town even then, since it is the home of Colby-Sawyer College, founded in 1837, but I don't remember seeing any part of the college back in the day. I found a current picture of the hospital, and it certainly didn't look like the building I vaguely remember. Perhaps the red-brick building in the back of the picture?

Never mind all that history...I'm here to visit a library.

In addition to the long ramp pictured above, access is easy with power-assist doors.

This  nook near the entrance provides a small seating area and a display honoring donors who contributed to the major remodeling in 1990.

The library has many rooms with varied functions. The one shown here is, I think, one of the largest and has a handsome fireplace at each end.

Each fireplace has a pair of unusual andirons. I'm sure there is a story about these.

What really caught my attention in this room was the large number of matching pieces of furniture.The picture shows the details that are found in each piece. According to my notes, there are two small tables, one large table, a mid-sized table, and the round table shown here. I'm sure these must go back to the early days of the library when it opened in this building in 1926. [The library itself dates back to 1801.]

The room with all these matching pieces is home to periodicals, which are arrayed on the table I'm calling mid-sized.

What caught my eye here is the case full of puzzles. One of the puzzles is called "I Am Moose," which seems to be a cousin of the gift I got in my family's Yankee Swap on Christmas. Mine is "I Am Woodpecker." No, I haven't put it together yet; I first have to work out an agreement with the cats.

These stairs to -- wherever -- are in a small room that seems to be teen or young adult space. My guess is that the Welcome sign is related to the re-opening of the library after it was closed for the COVID pandemic

      

      

This hall is very attractive and welcoming with multiple shelves for book displays.

Media in the foreground, Middle Grade fiction in the distance.

I've seen many variations on signs related to cell phones. This one stands out for its acceptance of reality!

It's pretty standard these days to see alternate computers out of service. The goal is to maintain six feet of social distance.

Website  history says that the library went fully automatic in 1996. This large card catalog would have been phased out at that time; the drawers--the ones I checked--are now empty. The telescope to the left is one of the telescopes donated by the New Hampshire Astronomy Society. I believe the goal is to have a telescope available for borrowing in every New Hampshire library.

I remembered to "look up" and spotted the interesting ceiling with exposed beams. I imagine that this was the result of the roof remodel in 1997. 

I've lost track of where I am in my notes, but these two pictures are representative of spaces throughout the library.

      

These handsome curved windows are in a large meeting room. I was not supposed to be in here, but I was allowed to take a picture and get out--thank you! I believe these windows achieve that curve by using multiple small panes, unlike the library in Wilton, New Hampshire, where the glass is actually curved.

I'm now heading downstairs to the children's library. The stairs are a broad spiral, enhanced by a wonderful mural.

Here's a detail from that mural.

Many of the libraries I've visited have outdoor spaces. This is a view to the outdoor program area from the children's library.

This is part of the children's collection. Noteworthy children's author Tomie dePaola lived in New London for many years until his death in 2020. The tall cabinet with the blue paint holds a collection of most (perhaps all) of his 260 children's books, some in languages other than English.

Here's a close-up of part of the dePaola collection.

Some of the holiday decorations are extending the season. Isn't that a neat shelf?

The table is ready for a kids' art project. The cubbies along the back wall hold board books for the youngest patrons.

Here is the service desk in the children's area. The Plexiglass barrier on the left is a symbol of the pandemic, and is an example of what is now found in every business and office. I wonder if Plexiglass will remain when the pandemic is over, or will just be part of the scene from now on. 

The collection is extensive, and the shelves are tall.

It's time for me to leave, back up the curving stairs and with one more look at the mural. There's more to be seen here, and I was invited to return. But there are so many libraries to visit! Intentional re-visits are rare, but not unheard of. I'll see.

 1/27/2022

560 Sutton Free Library, Sutton, New Hampshire

Great day for a drive to collect two libraries. There's more snow here than we have in Concord. I wasn't sure whether I'd be able to get a picture of the building; where would I stand? So I paused in the middle of a right-hand turn and snapped this picture from inside the car. I'm glad I did; there is a walkway cleared to the front door, but it would have been tricky to get there from the parking area without my trekking poles.

[Note the date over the door: the library and I are the same age.]

A standard book return, proportional to the size of the library.

 The librarian gave me a tour of the building, ending in the lower level. After the tour, I started taking pictures, so the photo tour here is sort of backwards. All of the books you see here are part of an on-going sale, by donation. 

More books and media, plus hangout space for teens.

I always watch for signs I haven't seen before. Signs often suggest a story: What happened to cause this to be posted? I'm sure anyone reading this sign could come up with a good guess.

Puzzles galore! They can be worked at the library or borrowed to take home. 

The glass case displays historical documents. The posters and papers on the case are related to the Story Walk. That walk is not available to me, because I was not wearing boots nor did I have my trekking poles. But we'll get a glimpse of it before we leave.

"New Arrivals" are showcased near the entrance, and I believe those are DVDs to the right. 

The main entrance opens to a small vestibule where periodicals are displayed. As I've seen in other libraries recently, no space is wasted. If you come in this way, the service desk is directly to your right.

I may have missed them in other small libraries, but there is a modest collection of "world languages," including a few titles in Spanish, German, and Russian. I understand that these lead an active interlibrary loan life. It was a nice surprise to see them here.

For some reason this way of shelving picture books, with a forward-facing book on each shelf, strikes me as fresh and attractive, though I'm sure I've seen it used in other libraries.

I believe that is adult non-fiction in the background. The table and chairs and big container of crayons are waiting for colorers. Or perhaps someone will get out a puzzle and take over the space!

Perhaps every library should have a saber-tooth tiger to keep an eye on the place!  And the window curtains are a very nice touch.

Here's an appealing display of Juvenile chapter books, both new arrivals and part of the rest of the collection.

I don't usually include bathroom pictures, but in this case I was told, with evident pride, that this is a fairly new addition and is ADA-compliant. And I couldn't resist the sign. It is eye-catching, very specific, and polite.

      

And on that note I will exit through the back door to the parking lot, the way I came in.

But finally, before I leave, here is the glimpse of the Story Walk that I promised. Can you spot it, just to the right of center? The librarian mentioned a waterfall; I think it's behind the fence at the far right. All libraries deserve to be visited in all seasons, but ... too many libraries too little time!

1/26/2022

526a Wilmot Public Library, Wilmot, New Hampshire (re-visit)

NOTE: Wilmot folks expected this to be visit 559 or 560. 

Since it turned out to be a second visit, it is number 526a.]

When I'm choosing a library to visit here in New Hampshire, I start by looking at my map. Orange dots mark places I visited during the first eight years of the blog, when I would make annual summer and Christmas visits from Minnesota. Green dots mark visits made since I moved to NH in 2020. What I look for is a place with no dots. And I found one on Monday: the town of Wilmot. No dot? Check. Open on Monday? Check, 2 to 6 pm. Reasonable distance? Check. I put the address in my gps and headed out.

There's one other step I should have taken.

When I got to Wilmot I thought to myself that these small towns with their white civic buildings are all similar. Really?

      

I was greeted by a woman who made me feel welcome and after a few moments we were joined by the library Director. I talked about the blog, and they gave me one of their very attractive library cards. It has a picture of the library, a painting by a local resident. Then the Director took me on a tour of the library. I didn't take pictures until I was on my way back, so the tour you will see is sort of backwards. It starts here in a multipurpose room that is underutilized these days, waiting for Covid to loosen its grip. When it is full swing again it will host pottery classes, other crafts, and meetings.

The room is virtually lined with cabinets that I was told hold myriad craft supplies. The room taken as a whole makes me think of the "Maker Spaces" that I saw often in the middle of the country, but not so much in New Hampshire.

      

A pass-through to a kitchen is convenient

There is a long ramped hallway between the multi-purpose room and the main room of the library. At the bottom of the ramp there are shelves of Free Books. Not a book sale? No, it seems that offering the books free (and accepting donations of money) works out for the best in the long run.

Here's the view looking back down the ramp.

The wall next to the ramp is filled with the "Library of Things," including cake pans. I first saw cake pans to borrow in a small Iowa library. I've never see a collection to beat theirs, but lending things other than books and media is fairly common, especially in smaller libraries.

Other possibilities here in Wilmot include games (popular in the summer when the grandkids come to visit), a microscope set that I would have loved when I was a kid, and a telescope, currently out on loan.

Large windows and comfortable chairs fill the end of the main library building

I couldn't resist getting a close-up picture of these fancy wooden table legs.

This alcove is dedicated the the Friends of the Library.

Poet Laureate Donald Hall lived much of his life in Wilmot.

Computers and such are available for patrons to use.

The center of the library is divided between two children's areas. This area with its soft chairs and braided rug holds books for the school-age crowd.

That white "box" beside the flag is a 3-D printer.

Across from the children's area is a place for the youngest kids. I'll add those colorful toddler-sized  "armchairs" to my mental list of "haven't seen those before!"

And here's an overview of the toddler area. Tomie dePaola has been here!

The card catalog is still available, with one caveat: "The catalog has not been updated since 2/2000." Users are advised to use the on-line catalog for anything newer.

I don't usually have a chance to take a picture of a library service desk, but in this case the volunteer had stepped away. This is where I was welcomed when I arrived.

The library guardian?

The window valences display paintings of historic Wilmot buildings. A book provides a handy guide to the pictures.

Now for the mystery. Even before I went inside I was experiencing deja vu, but I didn't listen to myself. When I got home I immediately opened the laptop and searched "Wilmot" in the blog. Sure enough, this was my second visit. Well, after 500-something libraries, I can't keep them all in mind. My visit was probably many years ago when I was starting out...right? Wrong; it was September 2020, 16 months ago. Perhaps that one visit was knocked out of my brain when I fell on my head (and a few other parts) last year? Hmmm, unlikely that I would lose just one visit. Plus, I did remember. I just didn't believe myself! 

Mystery solved! I looked at my earlier entry for Wilmot and learned that my  first visit had been on a Saturday. A little probing and I figured out that the library is staffed with volunteers on Saturday. So nobody was there for this visit who would have any opportunity to remember me. Now I just have to wonder why I couldn't convince myself that I'd been here before.

This visit is now less of a mystery. And I will be careful in the future to check the blog entries and not rely on dots on a map. 

1/10/2022