581 Pease Public Library, Plymouth, New Hampshire

 Although I grew up in New Hampshire, this was my first trip to Plymouth. It wasn't a great day for a drive, sort of gray, but it was a nice drive anyway. I arrived at the library and found plenty of parking. The building was white, and to be honest, I thought it looked a bit...plain?

 

This is the view along the side of the building, with the entrance at the right.

Ah, the columns are a nice touch...

and now we have a genuine sense of welcome. Every library should have at least one bench near the door!

Interesting! The view from inside is nothing like the exterior. That handsome window wall reminds me of the library in Buffalo, Minnesota. A feature like this is always eye-catching.

Now let's  wander around and see what we see. A table near the entrance offers gardening books, specializing in flowers. The tablecloth is a nice touch.

Around a corner I was surprised by a reading room centered by a fireplace and some special display shelves and cases.

For example, a narrow vertical cabinet holds historic objects.

The historic display includes an early picture of the Daniel Webster Courthouse that served as the Town Library for 113 years, 1878 to 1991. The courthouse is now a museum and includes the desk that served the library all that time.

     

Here's my favorite bit of Plymouth Library history. Most libraries I've visited have a "Friends of the Library" group that provides support for the library. Plymouth has the Young Ladies Library Society. The founding ladies are pictured here. And the amazing thing? This group is still around. Two other pictures (not shown here) are of  the group in 1991 and a year I'm not sure of in between. They're even selling nice strong canvas tote bags for all your books. Yes, I bought one!

From history we come to a display of graphic novels. Not long ago these were slammed as "comic books" but they they have now come into their own and are welcomed at most libraries, for adults and teens as well as kids.

When we entered we saw the flower book display. Here'[s another bright spot, giving new life to an old upright typewriter.

I believe there are six computer workstations. I can only show one because the others were in use, as they should be.

For a real dose of history, welcome to the New Hampshire Room. I've found that local history has a strong presence in many (perhaps most) town libraries. And whether there is a whole room, as here, or a modest shelf, precious histories will grant access only for those with permission.

I always like links between inside and out but in this case what caught my eye was the birds. Can you see them? I hope the flying ones take note.

The YA ZONE is teen territory. The hanging strips will be seen often, here and in other libraries. Many libraries this year are using an underwater theme for their summer reading programs, and each will come up with a way to suggest that we are in the sea.

A low round table in teen territory is used for messages and assorted graffiti. 

This is very cool. Books on the red cart are available for free. So much better than discarding them, and a way for kids to build their personal libraries. A change from 65 or so years ago when I was the Page at the Nashua library. One of my first tasks was to tear up, literally, a two -volume set of books on a subject interesting to me. Doing this just about tore me up.

A nice space for a couple of kids to enjoy a computer in the kids area.

Kids can choose free books, too, but theirs are in bins, not on a cart.

This part of the children's library has a wonderful mural. 

Here's a close-up of the foxes in the mural.

When I took this picture I was sure I'd remember this oddly shaped blue structure. But too much time has gone by. (It doesn't take much). It's tree-ish. Beyond that I'll have to settle for saying "it's cool" and "stop in and see for yourself!"

This area holds the easy  books for the early readers. I believe there was a display of handouts to  help parents guide their kids at this stage. And aren't the red seats great!?

I

 was pleased to see these books, because I really like the concept. I used some of these when tutoring a few years ago. I especially used the non-fiction ones. Each book has very simple text on one page, more complex text on the other. The adult  reads the "harder" text, which will often include one or two words that show up as a preview in the text for the kid. So both can read about a topic of interest. 

Since my visit was in June, it's not surprising that several parts of the library had displays for Pride month.

Another area of the children's library has a variety of manipulatives. And this area advertises the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten program. 

After the days of Covid (which are not really over), manipulatives and toys that were put away, mainly because of the difficulties keeping everything clean, are reappearing. Here's a generous collection of Legos, a perennial favorite.

This amazing wall displays a very large collection of manipulatives that are mounted on a wooden background. Plenty of manipulation, with no lost pieces!

Another perennial favorite, the transportation table.

The stars show the progress of the "1000 Books" kids.

The business end of the children's area gives us a look at the many materials needed to run an active children's program, especially at the beginning of summer!

This is the first time I've written a blog post while in the waiting room of the Toyota dealership while they figure out why the Check Engine light stays on. It's been an hour and it's freezing in here. but at least this has been written. Now to read through it, tidy things up, and post.

6/20/2022