571 Hanover Town Library, Etna, New Hampshire

After parking in the lot up the hill, I walked down to the roadside to take a picture of the sign. I try to do this for each visit, so I know that I'm starting a new set of pictures.

Then I turned for the first picture of the library building, which announces that it was built in 1905.

Heading back up to the parking lot, I spotted a series of signs spread along a path up the hill. Clearly, there was a story walk in front of me. I'd been driving more than an hour, so I decided to take a walk and have a look.

The ground was soggy with Spring thaw, but I stepped carefully and headed up the path. The book was Seeds of Change: Wangaris Gift to the World by Jen Cullerton Johnson. I am slightly familiar with this book, but I don't recall reading it. There was quite a bit of text, so I skimmed. [When I came home, I requested it at my local library. I'll pick it up today.]

As you can see, the graphics are wonderful.

I stayed on the path until I came to this wooden gate. I was getting chilly in my sweatshirt, so I headed back. Time to see the library!

This is the "back" entrance. The wooden display case in the center holds two sets of pictures, one related to Hayes Farm Park and the other ... 

oops, no picture! ... The King Bird Sanctuary. 

When those bushes are leafed out, this will be a delightful spot to sit and read or visit. Just fine for the day I visited, too, if I'd had a lightly warmer jacket! Time to go in.

And now it's time to say Hi  to staff and wander around. As usual, bright windows mess with the pictures. Someday I'll figure out how to work around this.

My "always look up" rule paid off this time with the handsome wooden ceiling.

Here's a friendly kid-sized table surrounded by classic wooden chairs. I was told that programs for kids are very popular.

Non-fiction books for kids are marked by bright "flags" on the shelves, 

making major categories easy to spot.

Look closely and you will see a cupboard door in the corner of the room. Here, the cupboard holds out-of-season holiday books. And the best part? Each corner of the library has a cupboard just like this! I assume this is original to the 1905 building. What a clever person the designer/builder must have been. This is definitely a "never saw that before" feature.

 

In the last post I was talking about using perfectly good furniture in non-traditional ways. Here's another example. These are bookcases with glass fronts that can be pulled out and lowered to protect the contents. Here, they are being used for the media collection, where they are kept in the open position. I remember a bookcase like this from my childhood, but I can't recall where it was.

Look up again and we see some more of the wooden ceiling and some unusual lighting.

The library has a lower level, but the gate at the top of the stairs is a deterrent. I'm sure that if I'd asked, I could have had a look, but there is plenty on this level.

More media...

And time to move on to the third library of the day.

4/5/2022