The Woods Hole Public Library, Woods Hole, MA
The welcoming Woods Hole Public Library.
We decided to head to Cape Cod to visit a few libraries and we sure saw some beautiful and special places. One, however, really stood out and that was the Woods Hole Public Library. Like the lovely Blanding Library in Rehoboth, the Woods Hold Library is a private non-profit paired with a local historical museum. It’s kind of weird but I think we’ve seen three libraries operating along these lines in just the past couple of weeks. But that’s neither here nor there, the main point is that Woods Hole Library is an amazing and wonderful place.
Artwork and the Vinyl Nook.
The stone building was opened in 1910, with expansions in the later part of the 20th century. The main room has a fantastic vaulted ceiling with exposed beams and trusses with artwork hanging down. The walls are covered with interesting and informative art and materials. It has comfortable spaces for reading, a community puzzle, and a “vinyl nook” for listening to actual records. There’s a stereopticon and cards for viewing, a stack of newspapers from the 1930s, and a nice Library of Things collection.
Adam sees the future and it’s 3D!
Beyond this main room are the stacks - they’re perfectly nice but not anything to write home about. Downstairs is a tea room (which has a gigantic table, perfect for working or meeting with friends), a kitchenette, a door to a lovely outdoor sitting area, and the library’s bookstore. The store was really impressive, a good collection. We noticed that there was an awful lot of yarn and fabric in the bookstore and we wondered if this was a crafting library. We decided to investigate!
The outdoor seating area. And a big bell!
We went back upstairs and met with Director Margaret McCormick and other members of the staff and library community. And when I say community, I really mean it. During our visit, members of the Friends, trustees, past librarians, and friendly dogs all came in. In fact, the staff seemed to be on a first name basis with every patron who came through the door, and always took the time to chat about books, DVDs and local happenings.
Chatting with the library staff, a friend and a friendly dog.
That’s not entirely accurate. There was one patron, an older gentleman, for whom this was his first visit. He’d driven past it on his way to the Martha's Vineyard ferry so many times, but had never stopped it. He seemed as pleasantly surprised as we were by the library and its staff. They were welcoming and helpful and we got the impression that he’d be back again.
Back to the community though. There are so many things to say about how the library connects with town residents and visitors. For example, there’s an annual community art project and fundraiser. In 2018, chairs from a restaurant that closed could be “checked out” and used, decorated, or otherwise made into art. They were then auctioned off as a fundraiser.
One of the 2018 Horseshoe Crabs.
One resident, a surgeon who is also a sculptor, disassembled his chair, cut it into pieces and painted them. The pieces were then re-assembled as a mobile which hangs from the library’s high ceiling. In 2019, horseshoe crabs were the item and in 2020 it will be old library card catalog cards.
Another community project is the library’s work as a way-point for Monarch Butterflies on their migration to Mexico. The first Monarch Day was back in 2016 and the tradition and work continue with the library’s butterfly garden and annual related activities.
I mentioned the yarn and fabric we saw in the book sales room. These materials were being collected for the library’s Super Bowl Sunday Fabric and Fiber sale. As the name suggests, the sale will be this coming Sunday, February 2nd from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. If you’re into fiber and fabric crafting, there’ll be a lot of materials to “check out” ... ha!
A flyer for the Super Bowl Sunday sale.
While the library supports and encourages the arts among its patrons, it also has a nice collection of original artwork that’s been amassed over the years. There are several nautical and town paintings by Franklin Lewis Gifford, pottery by Tessa Morgan of Flying Pig Pottery in Woods Hole, a Wee-Folks autobiography of and by the soft sculptor Sally Mavor.
Sally Mavor’s autobiography.
The whole visit - from the staff to the physical space to the collections to the programming to the artwork to the library of things - was outstanding. It’s exactly the experience we hope for when we walk into a library; just wonderful. It may be a bit off the beaten path, but if you’re in the area or heading to the ferry, this library is definitely worth the trip! Library Land Score: 4.64.
