The Week in Library Land: January 12 to January 18
We’re really hitting our Library Land stride! Nine libraries this past week, including three new ones and a few visits to old favorites we haven’t seen in a while.
The Woonsocket stacks.
On Monday, I ventured beyond the Massachusetts border for a visit to the Woonsocket Harris Public Library in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. You'd never guess Woonsocket has a population of more that 40,000 based on its library. It is a plain low-slung building, with walls of stacks that make it feel almost maze-like.
There is a study room, as well as numerous nooks and crannies for getting work done. There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles at the Woonsocket Public Library. In many respects, it feels like something of a throwback to the time before communities were reimagining what a library could be.
This felt a little like an example of what people who don’t visit many libraries think a library is. Library Land Score: 4.00.
While I was in the Ocean State, Adam was tooling around the South Shore. His first stop was the Pembroke Public Library. This is one we visited back in the summer. On this visit, Adam noted a high-ceiling "barn" layout that we have seen elsewhere from 1998 with 18,000 sq. feet. Very large children's area and a smaller YA section. No dedicated study rooms, but the large conference room and small trustees room can be reserved by non-profit groups or community meetings.
A cool quilt that celebrates Pembroke.
There’s an excellent Library of Things collection, including four backpacks for self-guided tours (three driving and one walking) of Pembroke. Each tour has a map, booklet of sites, directions, historical info, coloring pages and crayons. There are also lots of community connections: knitting and crochet groups, writing and book clubs, yoga and genealogy groups, and first run movies like "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood."
There is a "Swimming with the Fishes" fundraiser from the Friends group on display where local businesses design a wooden fish. A really neat and positive place. Library Land Score: 4.27.
Looking into the Adams Shore Branch library.
After Pembroke, Adam was able to visit the Adams Shore Branch Library in Quincy. This was the last of the Quincy branches visited, and it sure sounds like it was an awesome visit. A gem of a small branch library, Adam’s timing for a first visit could not have been better. Monday is the only night the library is open until 9p.m. and he arrived just in time for their monthly, “Cooking With Books” community potluck. Even better, the theme was cheese - and Adam is nothing if not a total cheese hound! He consumed three kinds of mac and cheese, dips, marinates, grilled and baked and had some room left for apple pecan cheesecake. Mark your calendars and think up some recipes for the chocolate-themed gathering February 10, 6:30-8pm.
This 1969 cylindrical mass of glass has interior wood beams that suggest a ship's wheel. The back of the building fans out to house the program room ("Judy" played earlier that day and the cheese potluck capped the night). It’s quite a place! Library Land Score: 4.09.
Painting of Seekonk at the Seekonk Public Library.
On Wednesday, Adam and I visited the Seekonk Public Library to meet with Peter Fuller and Kate Hibbert, the director and assistant director, respectively, to talk about what’s ahead for the library. We already knew that this was a great library and based on what we heard, the future sounds really bright for the library and the community it serves. Library Land Score: 4.18.
A little slice of the wonderful Blanding Library in Rehoboth.
From Seekonk, we made our way to the Blanding Public Library in Rehoboth. It was a pretty stunning place that we’ve written about at length in a recent review. Library Land Score: 4.18.
Sometimes, when you need to get some work done, the closest library is the place to go, and on Thursday that meant the Medway Public Library. It was off to the quiet reading room for me, where I was able to sit, think, and get some work done. Library Land Score: 4.36.
Now when you want to work with someone else, it’s often best to find someplace that’s convenient to everyone. Heck, that’s how this whole project got started in the first place. With my move to Medway, that in between spot has shifted a little, from the Newton Free Library to the Wellesley Free Library.
The Wellesley Free Library is a fine place, but it (like Newton) was born a few years too early to be an amazing one. It was built just before libraries, architects, and communities got their heads around the rise of the internet and what the digital world would mean. Having seen so many fantastic libraries, one has to wonder what a town like Wellesley would do if it were to open a new library today.
It was kind of hot where we sat down to work, and a little dark. That said, we spent a couple of very productive hours there and probably will again. Library Land Score: 4.36.
If it’s Friday, it must be the Woburn Public Library, where Adam often ends up apres yoga. There is something comfortable in a routine and for Adam this library has become an integral part of his week. It’s nice that such a wonderful library is right there where and when he needs it. Library Land Score: 4.91.
The beautiful reading room at the Franklin Public Library.
The last library of the week was the Franklin Public Library. It was the 100th library we visited in 2018, but we haven’t been back since then. As my parents were visiting, I thought it would be fun to take them to see the library. Looking back at our original review of this library, I also thought it warranted further attention.
Now the Franklin Library’s claim to fame is the collection given to the town by Benjamin Franklin in 1790. This collection is the basis for the library calling itself the oldest library in the country. All such claims need to be taken with a grain of salt, but no matter how you slice it, the Franklin Public Library is something else.
My parents are both book people. Growing up, our family library was substantial, certainly rivaling some of the smaller libraries Adam and I have visited in terms of the number of volumes. But, of course, a library is more than the books on the shelf. The opportunity to show my father and mother an amazing and beautiful library like Franklin’s was not to be missed.
Just our luck, the library was having a book sale. We browsed around and chose a few books, my parents filling a grocery bag to the point of bursting. The sale was on the ground floor of the oldest portion of the library, nice enough, but nothing spectacular.
Spectacular was to be found one floor above.
The reading room of the Franklin Public Library is one of the most fantastic library spaces you will see. The Ray building, designed by Henry Hammond Gallison and the architectural firm Rand and Skinner, was dedicated in 1904. It features a massive reading room modeled on a Greek temple. According to Public Libraries, Vol. 11 published by the Library Bureau in 1906, “its proportions, lines, and ornamentation adhere closely to the recognized standards in Greek architecture.” The space is made even more majestic with murals encircling the room. These are the work of Italian muralist Tommaso Juglaris. It’s a dizzying space, jaw dropping when you see it for the first time and take the time to appreciate it in all its glory.
My parents were certainly gobsmacked. My father was taken with the original Franklin collection, housed now in a carefully climate-controlled case. As they explored and experienced the library, I spent some time chatting with the staff, first at the circulation desk and then in the newest section of the library, where I met Felicia Oti, the library’s director. We talked about the Franklin Library, Library Land, and our first visit to the library. Like so many people we’ve met in Library Land, Felicia is such a positive and engaging person!
Walking out with my parents at the end of our visit, they couldn’t say enough about the library. It really is an amazingly awesome public library and one that is definitely worth a special visit. Library Land Score: 4.73.
Another exciting week in Library Land is in the books and another week is underway. What will it hold? Check in next week to find out!