The Week in Library Land: February 9 to February 15
Another busy week - and one that included crossing multiple state lines to see great public libraries! It saw Adam’s trip down to Savannah (which gave him the chance to visit three libraries along the way), a few favorites in Massachusetts, and the first stop on our journey west to Bloomington, Indiana.
The Slover Public Library.
The first library of the week was Adam’s visit to the Norfolk, Virginia and the amazing Slover Public Library on Sunday. To put it bluntly, he loved it. The Slover Library, located in the heart of downtown is an invaluable resource for the community. The Slover provides four creative studios (Design, Maker, Production, and Sound) for use by anyone - and for free. Need a podcast, greenscreen, 3D printer, editing deck or a guitar and drums? It’s all there - and more.
The Slover studios.
Adam had a long talk with regular patron Drew Boyd, CEO of Tidewater Waves. His company is a Norfolk-based marketing and media platform that allows creatives, entrepreneurs, community leaders, and others to showcase their lives and talents. During Virginia's civic and creative resurgence, Tidewater Waves has been a major contributor to the new positive landscape. Where does Drew get a ton of work done? Yep, in the Slover studios.
At the Slover, the old and new blend wonderfully.
One nice and notable element is how the original library has been completely renovated, yet retains its charm. It includes large conference rooms, reading rooms, and on a mezzanine level, there is a beautiful multi-screen, interactive presentation of local, historical photographic archives with captions. What a joy it is to scroll through, admire, and learn.
The library schedules a seemingly endless series of informative talks, films, art exhibits, and other programs. There is a community room on the sixth floor suitable for a large gathering like a wedding reception or fundraiser. They also created the “Selden Market” space next to the six-story modern building. This is used as a retail mall with a coffee shop, ceramics gallery, clothing, photograph board, an African arts and crafts shop, and more. This makes the library a real destination for patrons and others.
This library is also an American Institute of Architects and the American Library Association award winner, but in Library Land travels, it is also one of the most extraordinary libraries we've visited. Library Land Score: 4.82.
The expansive interior of the Braswell Memorial Library.
On Monday, Adam visited The Braswell Memorial Library in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. This is a large library serving a community of more than 50,000 residents. It was opened in 2002 after relocating from an older facility located nearby. The new library retains many of the architectural elements from the original library, including its walkway, banisters, stairwells, and other accents.
A tiny sample of the Braswell’s historical collection.
There’s a great history room with displays from newspapers, community event photos to be filed, and a display of "golden age" of train transportation from 1940s/50s. Also of note was an excellent Black History Museum with poster boards, bound magazines, and art. They'll be doing a Jewish heritage and Holocaust display later in the year.
At lunch, Adam had an impromptu meeting with Catherine Roche, the library’s director. She was thrilled to hear of the visit and his impressions. Library Land Score: 4.55.
On Tuesday, at opposite ends of the Eastern Seaboard, we each visited a library with which we have long connections. For my part, I spent a couple of productive hours at the Morse Institute in Natick. It’s always a comfortable place to spend time and get work done. It’s strange, I’ve spent so many hours at this library but it’s no longer my go-to spot in Library Land. Nevertheless, I expect it to be in my rotation at least some of the time. Library Land Score: 4.45.
Adam, and friends, at the Bull Street Library.
Some of the Bull Street rules.
Adam was at the Bull Street Library in Savannah. Growing up, Adam spent summers in this amazingly lovely city, where his grandfather owned a grocery store and where his mom still spends her winters. Adam’s grandfather was also a leader when it came to supporting the central library and his name is emblazoned on its walls for a renovation project.
As positive as the associations are with the library, there are an awful lot of signs around that say, “no!” Most of these seem aimed at limiting the behaviors of homeless patrons. We’ve visited enough libraries to know there are many ways this population can be a part of the library community. Saying “no” repeatedly isn’t one of them. In a strange coincidence, Adam found himself sharing a study table with a family friend from Boston (and Savannah). Their surprised conversations were “shushed” by a roving librarian. Hmm.
On a more positive note, the library is one of many in the country that offers free tax guidance and filing for any resident. Adam’s uncle, Gerry Bluett, has volunteered his accounting talents and tax knowledge at the library for the last nine years. Go Gerry! Regardless of how the library might be perceived today, it will always be a special spot for Adam and his extended family! Library Land Score: 3.55.
On Wednesday, I had training as an on-call substitute library staff person at the Dover Town Library. I can’t begin to say how happy and excited I felt as I walked through the library shelving books, pulling books for interlibrary loan, checking books in and out - it was like a dream come true. I was only there for a couple of hours, but I know there’s more to come! Library Land Score: 4.45.
The Lincoln History Room.
After my training, I headed to the Lincoln Public Library. I had a lot of writing to do and there’s no space I like more than the library’s history room. Library Land Score: 4.55.
On Friday I went to the McAuliffe Public Library in Framingham. I was there to check out a Veteran’s Coffee event. My interest stemmed from wanting to see how different libraries engaged with different groups within their communities. I was particularly interested in veterans for two reasons. The first is that we recently met with a library that needed to do a better job of connecting with veterans and some in the community. The second reason is that I was on hand when the McAuliffe’s Veterans’ Resource Center opened and I wanted to see how it was being used.
A portion of the McAuliffe’s Veterans’ Resource Center.
The coffee meetup was really good. There were six men and they were joined by members of the library staff, including Mark Contois, the director of the Framingham Public Library system. Most of the conversation revolved around how the men were using the library and answering questions they had about library services, donating books, and more.
After the coffee portion of the morning, I joined Dawn Dellasanta, who was responsible for the Center coming into being, and Danielle Barney, the supervisor of branch services at the McAuliffe library (and for whom this was her last day at the library), for a walk and a talk around the library. The Veterans’ Resource Center is modest, six shelves and a computer with links to various resources. That it is modest is by no means a criticism. The resources are used regularly and the Center demonstrates that reaching out with services for a specific group needn't be a major production. It was really heartening to see and hear how this came into being, and to see first hand how it was meeting the needs of Framingham’s vets. Library Land Score: 4.55.
The future home of the Oneida Public Library.
On Saturday it was the final library of the week and the first we visited together. We’d left Massachusetts in the morning to start our drive to Bloomington, Indiana and decided to stop at the Oneida Public Library en route. This is a sweet little library, albeit one that has grown tired over the years. The good news is that a new library will open in August.
A bunch of books for just
The space and services were what one would expect in an older facility with limited resources (for example, time on the public computers is limited to one hour). But during our visit, there was a steady flow of patrons and the place had a happy feel to it. One of the nice little features of the library are its “book bundles,” which bring together themed items to help patrons discover new authors or topics at the cost of just one dollar. Library Land Score: 4.09.
With Oneida behind us, we headed west, into one of the most wonderful weeks yet in Library Land!