57. Scott County, Shakopee

BIG place, most of a city block, 2 floors tall. First floor mostly for kids. Huge walls of windows. Upstairs, I loved the chairs with rockers at the study tables; not true rocking chairs, but good for restless studiers. Small collection of kids' books and toys on 2nd floor, in case kids come up with parents; good idea.

7/11/12, car

56. Scott County, Savage

Fierce notices about defacing property: library staff will call police! I assume they must have had a problem. Tons of Dan Patch (racehorse) memorabilia. Adults must be accompanied by teen if entering teen area--neat. Celebrity storytimes with school principals, Guthrie actress, crime prevention specialist, etc. Lots of kids' summer book clubs. "Critter camp" for your favorite stuffed animal. Leave your animal, come back a week later and get your animal back, along with a picture of the animal "at camp." Later, at a branch in a different county, I saw the results of a critter camp.

7/11/12, car

55. Scott County, Prior Lake

Library takes up a large part of a sort of mall; you enter past a yarn shop. Tall windows on three sides give lots of light. Very nice wood trim, especially up high. I like the idea of putting "early readers" in bins labeled by author or series. Kids' area has a padded bench all along one window wall; must be about 30 feet long.

7/11/12, car

54. Scott County, New Prague

Sign: "Teachers won't let you cite Wikipedia...Google's got millions of results...favorite library not open at midnight...Scott County's premium databases and on-line references can help."

Nice heritage room for local history. Suggestions for younger (upper elementary) kids, instead of Hunger Games--very constructive. Coke machine in lobby.

Library is in an extensive park. New Prague is pedestrian-friendly; I walked up to McD and got lunch, which I ate across the street in a different park.

7/11/12, car

53. Scott County, Jordan

A tiny storefront on a struggling mainstreet. Decent collection. Attractive space with natural light from good-sized windows. Had a power outage while I was there, apparently one of several on the same day.

7/11/12, car

52. Scott County, Elko New Market

Built as part of senior housing building, very smart. I've had several friends say this would be a plus for "where to live when I retire." Big meeting room also serves as community room. Wooden fire engine and car dashboard for kids. Still have some AC books on tape. Nice graphics reflecting local themes up near ceiling. (cows, crops, racing)

7/11/12, car

51. Scott County, Belle Plain

Looked as if all non-fiction is shelved together and not designated J, Y or A. (Later, I saw this quite frequently.) The little kids' area was in the center, literally, and "fenced in" with chairs and book bins. Created a nice safe place for the littlest ones. Casual, nice people talking in natural voices. I especially liked the benches outside, with book titles carved on them.

7/11/12, car