The Week in Library Land: February 2 to February 8
Now this was a week! The volume and variety of our Library Land activities is, frankly, mind-boggling! All told, there were 10 libraries, but that’s less than half the story. No, indeed, because this week involved a podcast, SUPER AWESOME FUNTIME, the start of a road trip and more. It was pretty fun.
The Sargent Memorial Library
It started, for me, in Boxboro. I was out that way to help a friend with a project. I found myself with some time on my hands. Thankfully, the Sargent Memorial Library was close at hand and car. We first visited this library in December of 2018. What’s interesting to reflect on was how much we liked the clean and simple design of the library, which is by Johnson Roberts Associates. Since that first visit, we’ve seen and appreciated variants of their aesthetic in a number of libraries around the state.
This week’s visit was great. I got a lot of work done in a nice, quiet, and comfortable environment. While we’re not even remotely unhappy with the loud vivacity present in so many libraries, it can be nice (and notable) when quiet prevails, as was the case here at the Sargent. Library Land Score: 4.09.
While I was in Boxboro, Adam was at the Watertown Free Public Library. Our experience with this library has been funny. Our first visit was almost two years ago, in the very early days of Library Land - and it was pretty focused on getting work done. We’ve often gone back to reconsider past libraries and we are always glad when we do. Watertown has been visited three times now and we appreciate this library more each time.
Adam’s visit was the best yet. It was a more leisurely visit that we’ve had in the past and gave him a chance to appreciate the library’s fantastic art collection, its magical history room (with its amazing Henry Wadsworth Longfellow collection), as well as more traditional resource - including a big honking Apple computer that he needed for a specific task.
Adam visiting with Aimee Lambert in Watertown.
One extra-special part of this visit was a great tour and conversation with Reference Librarian, Aimee Lambert, a friend of a friend. She talked about the major renovation that took place in 2006. It included sound-proofing, a great dedicated children’s room and teen area, a nice community/meeting meeting room, and a comfortable cafe with books for sale.
They also talked about the area artists who are represented in the library, as well as Project Literacy, which has been operating in the library for more than 20 years. The library sees itself as a hub where everyone is welcomed into a strong and supportive environment. That’s certainly a mission we can get behind! This visit was a great reminder of the importance and potential of revisiting favorite libraries - and reevaluating them too! Library Land Score: 4.36.
On Tuesday, I took a first step on a potential new career path through Library Land. While I’m waiting to hear back about graduate school, I thought it would be good to get some experience by working in a library. It’s something I’ve thought about for a while and I’m super excited.
I had an interview at the Dover Town Library. Dover is a town I’ve long been familiar with and Adam even went to high school there. A college friend grew up on Cranberry Land and we’d occasionally visit his house. There are all kinds of hidden mill ponds that are perfect for swimming in the summer. When I was living in Natick, Dover was just the next town over. It’s a really nice community.
This wasn’t the first visit. Adam and I visited the library back in the summer of 2018 - and somehow, I came away with the impression that the building was round. I can now attest in full faith that the Dover library is not at all circular. Don’t know what I was thinking.
I met with the library’s director, Cheryl Abdullah. We had a wonderful and wide-ranging conversation about the library, its mission, the community, its needs, and how I might fit in. As we walked around the library, Cheryl described her approach.
There are no hard and fast rules for the Dover Library. Everything and anything is open for consideration, experimentation (with the accepted potential for failure), and - ultimately - improvement. Everything is available to be borrowed, including things that most libraries don’t share - current issues of magazines, hardware devices, game consoles. Heck, I’ll bet you could even check out the furniture!
Another way the library’s approach is manifest is in the way it organizes its collection. Materials are grouped not by type (book, DVD, etc.), but by subject/use. This means that the cooking section includes cookbooks (naturally), but also cooking videos, and Library of Things items one would use in the kitchen. Cheryl pointed out that different patrons access information and learn in different ways, and that by organizing in this way allows people to find what they’re looking for without hunting over the place.
The Dover Library is run creatively, efficiently, and effectively. It would be awesome to spend time working there and I’d learn a ton. The position I had originally responded to was as Head of Circulation. It’s tempting, but I’m not sure I should be the head of anything just yet. Instead, I will be an on-call library assistant. It seems like a great place to start and I can’t wait! Library Land Score: 4.45.
Later that same day, I visited the Framingham Public Library. Framingham is such a dynamic community and the library (both the downtown one and the McAuliffe branch) reflect that feeling. There’s such a wonderful vitality! Library Land Score: 4.35.
The Malden Public Library.
On that busy Tuesday, Adam ventured for his first visit to the Malden Public Library. This library feels a little like something of a missed opportunity, or maybe more fairly, one that is dealing with limited staffing resources given the size and needs of the community. This came into focus while admiring the beautiful and historic Converse Memorial Building. It houses the library’s art collection but isn’t generally open to the public. We’ll just have to wait for a tour to fully appreciate this building. Library Land Score: 3.45
Wednesday was a writing day. Rather than visiting to my go-to library in Lincoln, I decided to give the Medway Public Library a whirl. I’m glad that I did. Yes, I got my work done, but I met someone who was new to the idea of working in libraries. Any time I can overwhelm someone with tales of working in Library Land I am in heaven.
This person has been working on her own for years, mostly out of her home but occasional coffee shops too. At first she wasn’t sure if it was even OK to plug her computer in! By the end of our chat she was sold. And why wouldn’t she be? Libraries are totally awesome places to work! Library Land Score: 4.36.
The wonderful red room in Wakefield.
On Tuesday it was a tale of two cities. Adam was on a desperate search for a library with a study room for a client call. While he didn’t find one in Wakefield at the Lucius Beebe Memorial Library (spoiler alert, he did the call from his car), he did get that critical second look at a wonderful space with so many nooks, crannies - and really wonderful architecture and furnishings. We’ll return to the “red room” reading area for sure. Library Land Score: 3.82.
On Thursday, I went back to Dover to participate in SUPER AWESOME FUN TIME! Let me set the stage for you. SAFT happens three times a week, on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and on Monday afternoons. Each attracts nearly a hundred people - young kids and caregivers - as nice an audience as you could ask for.
To me, the program is an hour of pure joy. It includes songs, stories, rhyming games, sensory activities, and crafts. I got to the library a little early to help get things set up, to choose a book to read (I opted for “Big Wide Mouth Frog”, a long time favorite), and to get a lay of the land.
People started gathering. A lot of small people. As the seconds ticked toward 10:30, you could feel the excitement building. My first task was to blow bubbles that would lead the kids to the program. As the bubbles flowed and the room filled, I retreated toward the front and prepared myself.
The staff were fantastic. I felt welcomed and totally comfortable. We sang a “hello” song and a few others. I read my book. There was lots of movement and more songs, and then we pulled out the sensory tables and crafts. I can’t say enough about how fun it was - the name really says it all!
The Kirk Douglas tribute.
Later that sameday, we also met up at an old favorite, the Cary Memorial Library in Lexington. This time we met in the Cary Commons area. Unfortunately, the WiFi was down for most of the visit. We decided to move on for lunch across the street, but we noted and paid respects at the Kirk Douglas DVD display tribute. I am Spartacus! Library Land Score: 4.36.
On Friday we met up at the Woburn Public Library to record an episode of Steve Thomas’, Circulating Ideas, podcast. We were able to reserve one of the library’s super comfortable study rooms and had a really great conversation with Steve, which he turned into a really nice recording. You can check it out here. Library Land Score: 4.91.
These shovels both broke ground in Woburn - more than 100 years apart.
On Saturday I zipped up to the Medway Public Library to pick up an Interlibrary Loan (Thaddeus Stevens: Nineteenth Century Egalitarian”). ILL is just about the best thing ever. It’s so nice to know that anything one could ask for is just a couple of clicks and a few days away! Library Land Score: 4.36.
Where in the world for fellow Library Land-er Adam? He was on the road at the end of the week. On Saturday, he started driving from Arlington to Savannah with another friend and you can bet libraries are a big part of the route. On Saturday, they stopped at the Wilmington Public Library in Wilmington, Delaware.
The Wilmington Public Library.
While it is an interesting urban library, it is also one that has probably seen better days. The earliest library in the community was incorporated way back in 1754. The current, block-long library was dedicated in 1922 and remained largely unchanged until 1970, when there was an extensive renovation.
Of note were copies of the Elgin Marbles located in the main lobby and the circulation room. These, together with the ionic columns, accentuate the Greek-revival style of the building. The library has quite a nice art collection (at least in reproductions). Copies of paintings by N.C. Wyeth covering the plot from Robinson Crusoe can be seen on the mezzanine. The originals, we believe, have been moved to the Delaware Historical Society, where they can be better preserved and protected.
This is one of the few libraries we’ve seen that still uses a card catalog. Not for everything, but for many of the items in the collection that pre-date 1967. They’ll be digitized soon, and it may feel like a loss to some.
This is a “contract library,” which means it receives some of its operating funds from the state and county, but must make up the rest from Friends, grants, and other donors. In many ways, we wish the space was utilized in more creative ways. For example, a Friends of the Library glass office cube is positioned in a large, open meeting area. Maybe other organizations or makers spaces and design studios could join for a more welcoming, vibrant community resource. Library Land Score: 3.82.
If you think that week was busy, hang on to your hats library fans, we’ve got some really busy, really super awesome weeks on the horizon!