153a Lake Elmo Public Library, Lake Elmo, Minnesota

I first visited the Lake Elmo library in April of 2013. Those who have been following this blog from the beginning might find this a bit odd; Lake Elmo is in Washington County and I visited all the Washington County libraries in the summer of 2012...didn't I?

Yes, I did. But at that time, Lake Elmo was an independent library, not part of the seven-county metropolitan area. Recently, it joined the Washington County system. Time for a new visit!

The library looks essentially the same five years later.

One difference is in the children's area, which has been greatly enhanced. Back in 2013 I rarely took interior pictures, so it's impossible to compare, but staff assured me that much has been done. Here's a peek at the results.

The "leaves" on that "tree" in the corner represent kids who are participating in the "1000 Books before Kindergarten" program. I'm glad to see this program catching on in Minnesota. There are also posters about keys to literacy: Reading, Talking, Singing, Dancing, Playing...

The children's area is one large space. But the distinguishing feature of this library was, and still is, the labyrinth of small rooms with varied purposes. [The only library I recall like this was, and still is, Lexington, Michigan, though Blue Hill, Maine, comes close.]

The room here holds DVDs and CDs as well as the fourth public computer.

Here's the home of the mystery books; science fiction and
fantasy have their own space adjacent to the librarian's office...

...and here are three public computers
in their own small glass-walled space.

If you want to curl up with a book, try this room, which isn't much bigger than the chair! You can't really tell from the pictures, but most of the many rooms here have at least one glass wall or large window, making the spaces seem lighter and larger than they might otherwise.

Toward the back of the building (or the front, if you enter from the parking lot) the Friends of the Library book sale shares a space with a kitchenette and a collection of table games.

I missed pictures of the Teen Room and the small non-fiction stacks. "Small" does not mean "limited," of course. Once advantage of being part of the Washington County Library System is the access to the whole system catalog, with requested books delivered here. Also, beyond the "book sale" room are rest rooms and a good-sized meeting room that can be divided into two moderate spaces. There's a lot of flexibility here!

At the front, if you enter from the street, self-service coffee is available, along with bright natural light.

An "inner room" holds periodicals, newspapers, a meeting table and another soft chair.

Every wall of the library displays art. I think it's local and at least some is for sale. My eye was caught especially by these constructions.

3/2018

30a North Central Library, Ham Lake, Anoka County, Minnesota

I was at the dental school at the University earlier this week, and my student mentioned that she lived in Ham Lake. I asked if Ham Lake has a library, and after a bit of thought she said that it does. I last visited here on July 12, 2012, as part of my "all the MELSA libraries" challenge to myself. At that time I knew it by its proper name, "North Central," which I think is why "Ham Lake" didn't ring bells for me. In any case, I slightly remembered the exterior. The library is located next to Anoka County offices in a strip mall, and the plain exterior gives no hint of the space within.

The large, open space is nearly a square, and every corner is put to good use. The librarian greeted me when I entered, and the first thing she brought to my attention was the Winter Reads adult reading program. "Winter Reads" is quite broadly used in this area, but North Central has put a spin on it by wrapping books and labeling them with a genre; borrow a book, perhaps read something you never would have tried otherwise! [This is helped by the use of RFID tags...check out the book without unwrapping it!]

 

I pretty much missed the "Reference" sign on the wall when I took the picture below. Reference collections are shrinking these days, and the shelves below the sign now hold media. But the endcap and some of the adjacent shelves do have reference materials, including the first 2017 World Book Encyclopedia that I've seen. The librarian explained that a few of the largest libraries in Anoka County get the most up-to-date encyclopedia, in this case 2018. Recent editions move down the ranks, and at this point the 2015 edition is in the Junior non-fiction area as part of the circulating collection.

A row of study carrels is nearby.

Fiction, including adult graphic novels, is located on various shelves and spinners.

I saw a sign about some of the special items the Friends of the Library have provided, and I believe this set of puzzle/pattern blocks is one of them. Others were a plant and a play kitchen for the preschool area. This set of blocks was more appealing to me than coloring sheets would be, but I resisted!

Periodicals provide a focal point for this seating area.

Adult non-fiction is on stacks, with "E" and "J" on adjacent wall shelves. I like the fact that all non-fiction is together, and the E and J books are intershelved.

The whole library receives natural light from large windows (and good interior lighting), but this children's corner is especially bright. I don't recall seeing these green and white picture book bins anywhere else in my travels; they really add zing to the space, in my opinion.

There's the play kitchen provided by the Friends, along with a doll house and other toys for the youngest set. Baskets on the bottom shelf in the background hold more toys, and a bin on the windowsill is for toys that need to be washed. It's funny...one of the last libraries I visited, Osceola, WI, was the first place I saw a bin for toys to be washed; two libraries later, here's another. Have I just been missing them in the other 470+ libraries I've visited?

At Columbia Heights, young patrons were invited to write their wishes for the new year. Here, the request is for "What book lights up your winter?"

A copier/printer and a few office tools create a mini-business center. I believe there are four public Internet computers. One was being used by a patron who, at the librarian's request, helped me figure out a route home that would not involve retracing my steps. It worked just as you said it would, folks...thanks!

1/8/2018

25b Columbia Heights Public Library

As you can tell from the "b" following the number in the title of this post, I've visited Columbia Heights before. My first visit was 7/7/2012, the summer when I decided to visit all the MELSA libraries. I went back on 8/3/2015 and took a more thorough look. That's when I learned that a brand-new building was on the drawing board, and from the bus I saw a sign indicating the location.

Then time went by, and yesterday, 1/8/2018, I decided I had some catching up to do. This is the view of the new building from the parking lot. Library offices and service areas are on the right. The lobby entrance is straight ahead, and a community meeting room is to the left.

I walked around to the front of the building and on my way spotted this sign describing a new (to me) way to handle water run-off from the roof. It's pretty neat. I also noticed that several parts of the parking lot had a permeable surface.

The new building stretches along Central Avenue. I couldn't get a good picture of the sign (without playing in the traffic), but you can see where it is.

A roomy lobby opens to a large community room on the right. Restrooms and a "hydration station"-type drinking fountain are located here. This area can be used while the library itself is closed, which provides great flexibility.

I don't think I've seen a more enthusiastic "Thank You" donor wall! The vertical boards in the picture above have words I was unable to read. My guess is that they say "thank you" in languages of the community. Leave me a comment...am I right, or do I need to make a correction?

The library proper stretches nearly the length of a city block, with large west-facing windows. Not pictured are the 16 or so computers for public use, a browsing area with new books, and assorted seating and tables.

At the end of the stacks there is a modern two-sided fireplace, with casual seating on each side.

This is the teen area, showing the computer stations and the lively cityscape outside. Yes, I know there is a way to rotate the picture, but I don't remember it right now. In the interest of getting the post posted, I ask you to tip your head to the right or your screen to the left. I'll come back and fix this later.

To the right of the teen area there are shelves of Junior fiction

This desk in the children's area holds materials for a new New Year activity. Not "resolutions" that will never be kept,  but "wishes" for the coming year. These are written on paper stars and posted as you see on the right. Neat idea!

This "golden cave" was a surprise when I got to the corner of the children's area! A set of hooks nearby hold superhero capes of various sorts. A "height chart" lets kids compare their height to that of various superheroes (Robin is the shortest), and a scavenger hunt sheet encourages kids to locate the logos of six heroes, then bring the sheet to the librarian and get a sticker.

Baskets like this make a convenient way to display small chapter books, like Junie B. Jones. [I took this picture mainly to show the aide who is running a St. Paul school library and who was looking for ideas.]  And the array of nine convex mirrors made me really wish some kids were present so I could see their reactions.

         

This final corner of the kids area has a family restroom and a great display of information about literacy and community services. I like the bin for materials to be reshelved, too.

As I headed back to the entrance, I passed on my left a series of glass-walled meeting rooms. The first has a sink and space for displays by the window. On this day, there were some very creative LEGO creations on display. Then there were several small study rooms, one that holds printer, copier, and community notices, and a larger room, big enough for a dozen or more meeting attendees. (I counted them!) Finally, a glass case invites patrons (and others) to share a collection. Today's collections was snow- and winter-themed.

Columbia Heights waited a long, long time for this building. It certainly seems to have been worth the wait!

1/8/2018

473 Dresser Village Library, Dresser, Wisconsin

Dresser was my second stop on this trip, and I was surprised when my gps indicated that it is only about five miles from Osceola. I think this demonstrates how important libraries are to their communities. In a way, it reminds me of the Hayfield, MN, library, but with some important differences. The similarity? We WILL have a library in our community. Differences? Hayfield is all-volunteer, Dresser has a library director. Hayfield is independent, not connected to any library cooperative, and Dresser is part of the MORE system in Wisconsin. But never mind all that, let's visit.

Here is the bright and festive Dresser Village Library...

...with its welcoming door.

Usually I introduce myself to someone who is staffing a service desk. I provide information about the blog and ask for permission to take interior pictures--without people in them. Once in a while I am immediately offered a tour. This can be a mixed blessing; sometimes it means that I see things I might have missed on my own, and sometimes I get caught up in the tour and forget to take notes...or pictures. Here in Dresser, I had the best of both worlds. First, Library Director Amber offered a tour, and I did indeed see things I might have missed. And then she "turned me loose" to look around on my own. It added up to a very nice visit.

There are three Internet computers available for public use; the third one in the row was indeed being used. The adult fiction section is full, and is subjected to regular weeding, an unpleasant but necessary task for any library. There is a sizable collection of large print books, but the audience for these books seems to be dwindling. One thing I would have missed on my own is a back room with copy, print, and fax equipment.

One corner of the children's area includes this "gears" manipulative and a door painted with chalkboard paint. Those of us who remember classroom blackboards remember the difficulty of getting them really clean (unless the teacher used a wet sponge) and the fun of "clapping the erasers" outside the door (while breathing chalk dust into our youthful lungs). But it's still fun to have a chalkboard available as a creative outlet.

What looks like quite a small library at first turns out to have a labyrinthine set of rooms. This is where my tour guide came in handy. However, I also could have followed the yellow-tape road, created by the librarian's daughter for the edification of people who seldom ventured beyond the first room.

The children's collection includes many popular series. Children's books, including fiction, are shelved by categories, similarly to the way they would be shelved in a bookstore. I'm still not comfortable with this system, though I'm seeing more and more often. It's not only the choice of small libraries; I think the first place I saw it was in Rochester, MN, where it was just being phased in for non-fiction.

This room also includes the Young Adult collection.

Other features of the children's area on the day I visited were this dinosaur display by the window and the friendly round table ready for four kids to read, color, or play.

The Dresser Village Library is an example of a small library striving to meet the needs of a changing population. I wish them well.

11/29/2017

472 Osceola Public Library, Osceola, Wisconsin

I was going over some maps and realized that I had somehow missed two libraries in Wisconsin; I'd apparently leapfrogged over them in my travels across the state. The beautiful weather and a bit of restlessness convinced me to fix this oversight.

I wish I had gone closer to the library before taking the picture below, so that you could read the sign. Why? Because this small town is in the process of raising matching funds for a new Discovery Center that will include a new library, senior center, community gathering area, business hub, and "Fab Lab" --a center for developing all sorts of high tech skills. So...if you are reading this before the end of 2017, just step over to www.millpondlf.org and make a donation that will be matched. OK?

The library's "back yard" includes benches, picnic tables, and a gazebo. A bit too chilly for hanging out here on the day that I visited, but think how pleasant this must be for at least half of a northern year!

The first thing I noticed as I entered was a heads-up sign, a "trigger warning" in modern parlance, about Mr. Licky. Who? Mr. Licky is a snake that is usually in a large tank but will sometimes come out to visit. If that's going to be a problem, speak to the librarian. It's a very nice, respectful sign.

When you enter from the lobby, the children's area is to the left. The central attraction, of course, is Mr. Licky himself; he was napping when I was there. Several signs provide information about Mr. Licky, who is a Ball Python, and about how to interact with him: wash your hands well before and after visiting with him; sit quietly and let an adult bring him to you; don't make loud noises; and stay away from his face, because he's shy. OK, sounds good. [By the way, I told the staff that I had one other library in the blog that has a snake. I was wrong; Exeter, NH, has a Russian Turtle that at times gets to roam around. But there are no other snakes that I know of.]

Turning our attention to everything else, we find shelves of books and media, plus various playthings for children of different ages. The library participates in the "1000 Books Before Kindergarten" program. There is a rack with a decent selection of periodicals for kids, and these look as if they are well-used.

The wooden train table is one of the most elaborate I've seen. It faces the story-reading corner, and I understand it has to be moved regularly to make room for program activities. I almost missed one more sign that I haven't seen before. It's in a small box and says, "If toys have been in your child's mouth, please put them in this box." Several blocks were there, waiting for a scrub.

"Food for Fines" programs are popular this time of year, combining fine forgiveness with food shelf collections. Here the food brought in was displayed along with a wide variety of cookbooks for the season.

The adult area has natural light, a chess game that looks as if it might be hand-carved, and a variety of seating possibilities for browsing and study. Four Internet computers are avaiable.

If you scroll back up to the picture of the library entrance, you'll see three small square windows up quite high on the left. These mark the teen area of the library, which is complete with books, assorted tables and chairs, a popcorn maker, and a huge collection of table games.

Those steps on the right go up to the teen area. Here at the bottom of the steps the wall has been transformed with chalkboard paint, and assorted chalk is available nearby.

Finally, how did I miss this on my way in? In the spirit of Little Free Libraries (Take a Book, Leave a Book), a rack in the lobby invites patrons to leave what they can share, and take what they need.

This library is already using great amounts of creativity and care to serve the community of Osceola. I'm looking forward to visiting when the new space is ready, to see how they continue to serve.

11/29/2017