One Day, Two States, Six Libraries
On Monday, March 11, Library Land visited six libraries in two states. A couple were repeat visits, and all were fun. The most striking thing about the visits was the stark contrast between the ones in Massachusetts and the ones in Connecticut. There was a vibrancy to the ones in the Bay State that was missing from the ones in the Nutmeg State. It’s a testament to the support libraries receive in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners is an incredible organization and has helped make the state’s libraries among the best in the country.
That isn’t to say there aren’t fine libraries everywhere, but there is something consistently outstanding about public libraries here.
Gladys E. Kelly Library - Webster, MA
The Gladys E. Kelly is a great example of the state’s outstanding libraries. There have been multiple Library Land visits to this library over the years and it never fails to impress. A few things really stood out this time: The fact that they readily support patrons from Connecticut and hosted Geraldine Brooks for an in-person event.
Assisting a library patron with a computer question.
I had the opportunity to help a patron with a computer issue. It’s something I get to do every day at the Wellesley Free Library, and it was fun to do it someplace new. The Library of Things at Webster was impressive, with lots of cooking-related items. There is a KitchenAid, a fermentation kit, a sauce-making set, and canning tools. Seeing the different kinds of items different libraries add to their collections is an interesting reflection of the community being served.
When we asked about other libraries in the area we should visit, they recommended a few in the “quiet corner” of Connecticut - and that was where we headed next.
Thompson Public Library - North Grosvenordale, CT
The first of the quiet corner libraries was in North Grosvenordale. This is a small community of fewer than 10,000 people. The library is co-located with a community center. The space was constructed in 1994 but it felt older than that as we toured around. It’s a small collection and there was something of a sleepy feel to the library. That was, in part, due to the motion-activated lighting in sections of the library. I’ve seen this work really well - I’m thinking of the Tufts Library in Weymouth - but here it felt less effective.
Variable lighting was an interesting feature.
The library has an extensive DVD collection that is very popular, a few group study rooms, and a cool collection of local history resources. In speaking with one of the library workers, we heard about the library’s strong connection to kids in the community, as well as the wish that there was more programming for adults.
Putnam Public Library - Putnam, CT
From there, we drove south to Putnam. Another library servicing a small community (9400 people) and also co-located with a municipal complex, the Putnam Public Library was lovely. It was recently renovated and has some excellent features. The study/programming rooms are top-notch, the lighting is excellent, and the children’s and teen spaces are outstanding.
Things were hopping during the visit with all of the study rooms and most of the public computers in use. While chatting with one of the library staff, a patron piped up with details on the community. I love that.
Priscilla Colwell, the library director, was kind enough to show us around the library and to talk about the town. At an inside baseball level, I was interested to learn that the library doesn’t have a full-time technical services person. This role is typically focused on managing acquisitions, cataloging, preparing materials for circulation, etc. How libraries handle this is interesting to me and it was interesting to hear that here, the work is spread around the staff.
Chatting with Priscilla Colwell
Rachael posing near a St. Patrick’s Day tree in a meeting room in the Putnam municipal complex.
This was a really outstanding library.
Killingly Public Library - Killingly, CT
The last stop in the Quiet Corner and a very quiet library indeed! This is a stand-alone library and it was a large and comfortable space. It also felt a tiny bit dated. Rachael hit the nail on the head when she described it as looking like a library in a 90s movie. Nevertheless, there were plenty of neat things about the library.
It’s part of the Connecticut Library of Accessible Books (CT LAB) and had a Brailler and Talking Book reader out on display. Pretty impressed by this. Also happy to see a seed library. Such a simple idea and one that is taking root (ha!) in a growing (ha!) number of libraries.
One final note - this library had so many St. Patrick’s Day decorations and displays!
Jacob Edwards Library - Southbridge, MA
From Killingly, we headed back north to our next stop, the Jacob Edwards Library in Southbridge. Pulling up, it was clear we were back in Massachusetts. Built in 1917 and servicing a community of 17,000, the Edwards is a large and attractive building right in the heart of town. Inside, the ceilings were tall, the air was coolly comfortable, and the light natural. Somehow, it felt very different from the libraries we’d seen in Connecticut.
One similarity was the continued use of masks and Plexiglas, which was also the case at the Thompson and Killingly libraries. Another was St. Patrick’s Day decor.
We were impressed by some of the language learning options, including Arabic, Albanian, Romanian, Classical Greek, and Lao. As with Library of Things collections, language learning also offers an interesting window into a community and its evolving needs.
From the present to the past, it was also nice to see a Boston Post cane at the library.
These canes were a marketing campaign for the now-defunct Boston Post newspaper. The canes were given to the oldest resident in a town (originally only the oldest male resident) and then passed on when that person passed on. The campaign started in 1909 and continues to this day in a handful of communities around New England. It’s always a treat to see one of them at a library!
The most dramatic moment of the day’s visits also occurred in Southbridge. Rachael saved a baby. While on the second floor, a youngster was crawling around near its adults. As we went down the stairs, we suddenly heard the baby tumbling down. Like lightning, Rachael dove and caught the child before they made that last hard fall onto the landing! What a baby-saving hero!
Joshua Hyde Public Library - Sturbridge, MA
The last stop of the day was the Joshua Hyde Public Library in Sturbridge. This was more a visit of opportunity than of intent. We happened to be driving by just before closing time and decided to quickly visit. This is a lovely little antique library but first impressions can be deceiving. Not that it isn’t lovely (it totally is) but it’s actually not that little.
All in all, it was a good day of library visits. It was fascinating to see the differences between all of the individual libraries (it always is) but it was especially interesting to think about them more broadly. The differences were dramatic. I’m not suggesting that these six libraries are emblematic of all the libraries in each state (I know that isn’t true) but in this case, the differences were striking.