586 Smythe Library, Candia, New Hampshire

The plan is to visit four libraries, one of them a revisit because I missed something major on the first go.  Ahh, we know how plans go, don't we? Well, the first stop was just fine. I had spotted Smyth Library a couple of weeks ago on line; it was having a re-opening celebration after flood damage, so I'd planned to allow a little time  for them to get resettled. And trying to visit during a celebration generally doesn't work well.

This time of year it's always nice to start outside. Every library seems to have a Friends group that likes to assist with landscaping.

The open book logo is very dynamic, thanks to the page turn in motion.

I chatted a bit and learned that the flood was not rising water but rather falling water--from the sprinklers! The librarian showed me one feature that I would have missed, a very nice reading garden accessible from an inside door.

She let me visit the reading garden, and thoughtfully checked that the door would not be locked when I was ready to come in!

A sign gives the background of the reading garden. A fine tribute to a woman who spent more than 40 years involved with the library.

I forgot to ask, but the prominent size and location of this portrait suggests that it must be the "Smyth" of the library's name. It's good to see "Living room" settings like this again, after they were banished during the pandemic. 

I'm always on the lookout for ways that libraries honor their donors. This is a nice example, colorful and easily expanded.

A short hall between two parts of the library is lined with historic photographs.

That short hall took me to a multi-purpose room which is definitely serving multiple purposes. As you may know, I'm always on the lookout for things I haven't seen before in a library, and this bony fellow definitely fits that category.

These corners house the historical and reference books.

      

Here is a healthy collection of recorded books. 

I hadn't seen Great Courses for quite a while, until I saw some at a NH library recently. Here is another collection; do two make a trend?

This model may represent the library building. I didn't see a sign and I didn't think to ask. But since I have a history of building dollhouses, I enjoyed seeing this.

Computers are designated for Catalog and Internet.

I was limited in my pictured-taking in the children's area, for the very best of reasons: story time had just ended, so the space was full of kids! It looked to me as if it had been a pretty large group. The giraffe is the first thing you see when you enter this area. That sign on its leg says do not touch, as does a sign on the yellow bear. Understandable, but a little sad. 

Well, if you can't touch the bear, at least you can sit on one!

There was much more in the children's area, including a large bow window, but we'll have to leave it to the kids.

Plenty of light in the stacks.

There is a matching study table with chairs on each side of the stacks.

A comfortable chair, natural light, and a live plant...all set for a reader to feel at home.

The "J" section is separate from the story time and picture book area. Here is a collection of periodicals for the school-age crowd.

These shelves hold "J" fiction and non-fiction.

 And now it's time to continue the day. Let's see, the plan was to visit four libraries, right? One down and three to go, so we'll see how well the plan works.

7/29/2022