589 New Durham Public Library, New Durham, New Hampshire

I guess it's fair to say that I'm not always the best at details. My sister said she would pick me up at 1 pm the other day; I messaged back that I would see her at 10. She set me right on that! So maybe it's not surprising that I had New Durham's library hours right in my notebook: Wednesday 1 to 7. Fine...except that it was just about noon when I arrived. I didn't see the problem right away. There was one car in the parking lot in addition to mine. I walked down toward the street to get a picture of the sign...

Then I headed back to the library building. Beautiful day, beautiful building.

A nice long ramp up to the door...which was locked! Finally, light dawned. I was an hour early! What to do? Hang out for an hour? Go find some lunch? 

Ponder the Story Poles next to the ramp? I'm not familiar with story poles....

    

Wonder why book donations are not being accepted? [I can think of a few reasons.]

As I walked back down the ramp, help arrived in the form of a staff person coming to work. I explained why I was hanging out on the ramp, and she very kindly let me in. No problem here with the "no people" rule for picture-taking! I met the other staff person, explained my project, and started exploring.

Four computers are ready to go. Three signs above them served different functions.

First, the local rules, all very reasonable reminders. I don't very often see computer rules laid out this clearly. They are examples of good computer practice.

The second sign takes us beyond the local rules to a set of general behaviors.

And the third sign provides a lesson in making sure you are getting accurate information in your searches. Taken together, these signs provide a survey of responsible computer use.

The entry to the library is through a vestibule that takes one to the children's area on the right and the adult area. on the left. Let's go left. The first display is an Author Spotlight, currently featuring James Lee Burke.

Tucked in a back corner I spotted what every home, and every library, needs: a place for "everything else."

I'm now accustomed to seeing a lendable telescope in every New Hampshire library. Here, though I failed to get a picture of it, you can also borrow a microscope! I would have loved that possibility when I was a kid. All we got was stereopticon slides., and the days Miss Manning put those out were always special.

   

If you've been around the blog for a while you probably know that I always try to remember to look up at the ceiling in a library. You never know what you will find. Here in New Durham I found that many of the ceiling tiles are painted with unique designs. A map of North and Central America, for example.

Or a collection of children's handprints. I asked about this and learned that it's a custom, several years old, that is part of the celebration of the summer reading program. It's not an annual custom, but what fun it must be to leave your mark overhead.

The submarine is cardboard and kid-sized. It's not yellow!

This alligator (or crocodile) provides manipulatives for several kids at once.

Libraries are not just for books these days. In fact, many libraries are taking the lead in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math). programming. I think there must have been a grant program, because I've seen STEM/STEAM kits and toys available in several libraries lately. This is something else that I would have enjoyed when I was a kid.

 

Sometimes you see STEM and sometimes an A is added to represent Arts. I haven't seen a space designated as Maker Space very often here in New Hampshire, but in Minnesota it was very common. Maker Space can vary from a corner for art projects to a whole room with sewing machines, 3-D printers, and other technology that can be borrowed. or used on-site.

For those who need an imagination starter, I like the poster on the left.

This poster seems to be aimed at older elementary or middle school kids. It fits with the 300 Books Before Middle School program. I've recently started seeing a few libraries with the 

Before Middle School program and I think it's great as a follow-on to 1000 Books Before Kindergarten.

      

Just before I left I recalled the summer reading contest between New Durham and the Goodwin Library in Farmington. You may recall that Farmington had an enormous octopus and kids there could add paper loops to it for books read. Down in New Durham they did not have a purple octopus, but they were certainly keeping track. New Durham won, but the results were close: 1901 to 1819, just 82 points different. Try again next year?

8/24/2022