612 Chocorua Public Library, Chocorua, New Hsmpshire

 

Hello, it's good to be back again. If you read yesterday's post you know something of my recent camera woes. I thought all was well until I entered today's post from Chocorua. The issue this time: Didn't I take more pictures? My hypothesis is that the new camera has a different "feel" and sound when I take a picture, and I think I occasionally did not capture a picture that I thought I had. Done is done. If you have a feeling that this post is a bit slim, that may be why.

Mount Chocorua is an oft-painted mountain in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. In my youth, any people (including my grandmother) had a painting of Mount Chocorua hanging over the sofa. At least, that's my memory.

But we're here to see a library. For starters, here's the guardian lion. Sadly, it has no name. The pair in New York City are "Patience and "Fortitude."

I should have asked about these figurines and why they have specific labeled places on the shelves. There must be a story behind these.

I just chanced to glance into a corner of the children's library and spotted a number of riding toys. This must be a lively place when the toddlers are in!

I'm always glad to see natural light  in a library.

That white blob is a plastic jar full of  slips of paper that are used to encourage kids to broaden their reading choices. I was reminded of a library in Wisconsin that maintained a jar of tongue depressors with a Dewey Decimal number on each. The challenge: take a wood strip (without peeking), then find the matching book--and read it.

I think my intention here is to show you the handsome, and old, table and chair. Almost every library I visit has furniture or other objects that have some history behind them. And that reminds me: A few years ago I noticed that almost every library I visited had at least one quilt displayed and a grandfather clock, usually in working order. Three visits in a row and I don't think I've seen a clock or a quilt. Hmmm.

Another "always seen" in small town libraries is a collection of old books. There are usually categories for local and regional history and geography. I believe that this collection includes all or most of the books that formed the original collection. I found an interesting detail in the booklet "A History of Chocorua Public Library, 1888 - 1988. The library was funded by donations on the basis of what a person could pay. The prime fundraiser, Frank Bolles, wanted to "...make the library more than the project of a few affluent men." Fundraising resulted in 73 people subscribed a total of about $330. [No women were mentioned in the description of fundraising, but when it became time to staff the library, young ladies are busy "...covering marking, numbering and arranging the books..." One more tidbit from the history book, "Mr. Beck refused, for no satisfactory reason, to perform his promise to build the shelves."

When it comes to things that once ubiquitous in every library, here's the old card catalog. It's waiting for someone to have a vision of how it may be used. "Recipes" have been suggested.

Three more pictures; I will let you make up your own commentary

10/11/2023