123. Great River, Little Falls

A nice day for a drive, so I decided to tackle the farthest-northwest branches of the Great River Regional Library, starting with a Carnegie Library in Little Falls. That's the location of the boyhood home of Charles Lindbergh, by the way.

Like the Carnegie library in Sauk Centre, this one has had an addition "wrapped around" the original building. It was done so artfully here that it took me a while to recognize that the stone and brick walls, with windows into the lower level children's area, were once part of the outside wall.

The library is on four levels. [The entrance is accessible, and there is an elevator.] The top floor houses a teen area that I hope gets a lot of use, because it is very cool. Some good teen programming must be going on, judging by a poster about a book club. From the photos and names it appears to be mostly, but not entirely, girls. There is also a display about the book club exchanging letters with a similar club in Scotland in 2011. The space has a diner booth and a number of tall tables with tall stools to match; one of those tables has a jigsaw puzzle in progress. The collection was modest, but of course patrons have access to the entire GRRL collection.

The next level down is also part of the original library, with a fireplace at each end. The tables and chairs look as if they may be originals (and that is a compliment, folks). The Lindbergh Room is available for quiet study or small meetings. There are periodicals and newspapers, and the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature for years 1990 to 2007, which I haven't spotted anywhere else. Perhaps I've missed it.

The main, entry level includes circulation and the adult collection. The adult fiction, non-fiction, and media sections seem to have been rearranged recently, and the signage hasn't quite caught up! Spanish books are available. There are couches, chairs, DVD and VHS movies, books on cassette, both checkers and chess sets ready to go on small tables, and another jigsaw puzzle in the works.

The lowest level is the children's area, just as it was in my childhood library. The space is half underground but is brightened by many windows at ground level. I like the small bright blue rugs with the "library" logo on them. The picture book area has books in bins, of course, and also puppets, a wooden train set on a table, and a play kitchen. There are couches for adults.

In the older kids' area I like the list of series available, with the shelves marked alphabetically. I know from experience that series books can be very challenging to shelve and maintain. And I especially like the sign on the non-fiction shelves, "If the book you want is not on the shelf, ask a staff person to request it for you." This would be very helpful since the GRRL collection floats.

11/8/2012, car

Original building to the left; the addition blends nicely.

104. Hennepin County, Sumner Library

Another Carnegie gem, with appropriate additions. This one, built in 1915, is the third library built in Minneapolis--and it is still going strong. Very strong. It was most recently expanded in 2004.

I like the features that mark a Carnegie library: the tall windows, the classic architecture, the handsome fireplace, the cushioned window seats. One of the new sections has soaring, curved, laminated-wood beams with iron tie-rods.  A feature in the center of the oldest part, five sides of an octagonal structure with seating inside, was the original service desk; it was nice to see it still there.

If I had an award for "best use of small, odd spaces," I'd nominate the tiny space called the Book Nook. It's next to the picture book room, which is lined with books and has a room-sized rug with nursery rhyme themed pictures around the edge.

A staff person, Natalie, asked me if I needed help finding anything--a rare occurrence on my visits. She explained the "Sudduth collections" that I had seen in every part of the library: kids, adults, fiction, non-fiction. These collections are thanks to a Mr. Gary N. Sudduth, a former Mineapolis Library Board member. You can look him up on the Hennepin County Library website. Natalie described the library as "a true neighborhood library, an extension of people's living rooms." She said that many people spend many hours a day there. Indeed, though I had missed the preschool story hour, the library was busy at 10:45, with many chairs and most computers in use.

8/24/12, bus

95. St. Paul, Riverview

A handsome Carnegie library, but I doubt that it has had a "river view" for decades. Sadly, handsome doesn't mean "acoustically suited to today's library users." Historic pictures on the wall show many children using the library, sitting quietly and reading. Twenty or so youngsters were appropriately busy today, and the room reverberated. An empty library would be quiet, but somehow not as satisfying. (But of course, I was only there for 15 minutes or so!)

People have long wanted libraries, and a lending library was started in 1905 in a drug store; the present building opened in 1917. It almost closed in 1981, but the large number of books loaned per capita saved it, and it entered the Registry of Historic Places in 1984.

The children's area has a small "market" for creative play and various signs with suggestions for parents to build knowlege and vocabulary. There is lots of Early Childhood and Family Education material available, along with the request "Please do not leave young children unattended."

Shelves create three "bays" at each end of the library, and each has a purpose: media, non-fiction, kids, and so forth. This afternoon, each area was being used by kids of different ages. It's one of the liveliest branches I've visited.

8/17/12, bus

81. St. Paul, Arlington Hills

The bus stop was 3-4 blocks from the library. I don't know this part of St. Paul well at all. After riding the bus south on Arcade, I walked through a well-kept neighborhood and suddenly came upon a genuine Carnegie library! Like all of its ilk, the building is handsome, with tall windows curved at the top and a high ceiling.

The building had only been open about 20 minutes when I arrived, and already the computers were busy and there was a general sense of purposeful activity. Both adult and kids' areas had material in several languages. [I managed to forget my notebook--what is it with me and note-taking? I took notes on a couple of pieces of scratch paper that I found next to a computer, and tucked the papers into the book I took out. Now those notes seem to have vanished.]

I enjoyed talking to library staff, and provided the blog address. I hope the woman I talked to will comment and add whatever I've missed here.

8/8/12, bus

68. Hennepin, Hosmer branch, Minneapolis

You can tell this is a Carnegie library even before you step inside. The addition on the back blends very nicely. Woodwork, tall windows, some stained glass. I liked the fact that every shelf had a book displayed on a stand; it made the books so appealing, I almost took out more than I cared to carry. (Instead, I made a list, and I will request them later.) There is a separate section for language-learning tools. Lots of J non-fiction in its own area. A separate room for the little kids, with couches and shelves/bins of picture books. A kite is inlaid in the floor outside this room, with the tail leading to the door. Directly inside the door, to the left, is the media collection; to the right, fiction and periodicals and chairs for browsers. A community room is downstairs. What did I miss?

7/27/12, bus

34. City Library, Stillwater, MN

Made my second trip here today to return books, take a picture (camera didn't work the first time) and resolve an issue--see the picture from Newport Express. Library has, among other things, a parking garage and a gorgeous puppet theatre. I thought the puppet theatre looked old, but a librarian says it is not. I got permission to take a picture of it, my only "interior" picture in this project.

I believe this is a Carnegie library, or was originally. And I think a picture from the other side would do it more justice.

CORRECTION: Stillwater is IN Washington County, but not OF Washington County Library System. It is a town library.

7/7/2012, car (can be reached by bus, but the schedule is difficult)

12. St. Paul, St. Anthony Park library

This little gem is a genuine Carnegie library. I especially like the round children's area on the back, with shelves radiating like spokes from a central area. There is a special children's reading garden at the south side, and gardens and benches in front on the triangular lot.

I get in here once in a while because it's on one of my bus routes to the U of M. Occasionally I even walk from home, about 3 miles.

Susan, what else should be said?

6/27/2012, bus