Orrville, OH - A RailRoad Engine in a Library??

 THE ORRVILLE LIBRARY    

 The library in Orville, Ohio is a joy to visit.  Some of you may be rubbing your forehead and asking yourself "Orrville??  Where is that"  Orrville is about 20 miles west of Canton then 3 miles north of US 30.  Or about 45 miles south of Cleveland, OH.  It is also just a few miles east of Wooster. 

       If you let your mind wander a little you should recall that Orville is the world headquarters of Smuckers (you know..the people who make jam!)

      The Orrville Library has this nice library statue to greet you near the main entrance.

 

    

Note the statue behind the railing on right

       The reason this library is interesting is not because they have spent a ton of money. They may have done that, but the appeal of this library is how well they have used some original thinking to create areas that seem separate and more spacious than they are.  Other creative touches make this small town library sparkle. 

       I have seen libraries where they have thrown a lot of money at it but had few creative ideas and what they wound up with was a big expensive and uninteresting building. That is not the case here. 

      As you can see in the following pictures, this library is not small. It covers most of a block.  I have been in larger cities with smaller libraries.

View from the main street of town

The pictures above and to the right are taken from the main street of town. The picture below is taken from the opposite end of the library.





One of the more interesting things about this library is the creative use of raised or lowered floor areas. Although some of the areas are in the same large room the change in floor levels gives the illusion of it being a separate space.

     I live in northern Michigan where we get a lot of snow and found the "No Parking" sign below amusing. Where we live 3" of snow is a common occurrence. The fence on the right of the picture below is along the ample parking lot where you can park when there is snow.

 The woodwork in this library is especially attractive. Orrville is just north of Amish country in Ohio and may have been the source for the woodwork.  Other libraries in this area have mentioned that the Amish supplied their woodwork. 



Looking toward the children's area up the stairs.



All I had to do was ask and Chris gave me a library card for my collection. I learned that she was also from Michigan, but has relocated to Ohio. Lovely buildings alone do not make a great library. Smiling people like Chris make them warm and friendly places.  Thanks Chris.  Note the library card in my hand on the left.

On the way to the childrens section I spotted this charming teen area.  The "painted" pony in the middle of the picture was an interesting addition.  As I continued up a short few steps to the children's area I did not expect what I saw next -a railroad engine in a library!

 

I had thought perhaps they would have a large jar of Smuckers Jam but was puzzled by the engine in the children's area. Then I learned Orrville was established about the same time that trains came to the area. A few different train companies served this area and train lines crossed here so the community has a history of RailRoads.  They have honored that history with this delightful engine in the children's area.  This side has study spaces for children and the other side (see below) has computer stations. What a delightful and useful addition to their children's area. This is an example of the creativity I saw throughout the library.  

   

http://wcpl.info/AbouttheLibrary.aspx

     A word of apology for not posting last weekend. I was in Findlay Ohio doing research at the library there. I hope to show you that library in a week or so.

Thanks for reading. Your comments are always welcome

Nashville -Magnificant Outdoor Library Art

No, the guitar to the left is not the magnificent artwork I want to show you. But, what city comes to mind when you think of guitars and country music and the Grand Ole Opry?  Yes we are in Nashville, TN to explore the wonderful Nashville library. 

    These pictures are from my trip there in 2004. The new Nashville main branch had just been built a couple years before I arrived.  But I am getting ahead of myself.



Edmondson Pike Branch Library



 The Edmondson Pike Branch was close to my motel and was my first stop. When the staff learned I was interested in libraries and collected library cards they were enthusiastically helpful. The lady pictured to the left showed me the library.

     She took me to her office and gave

me these library cards. The first picture is the keychain cards they offer in either a nighttime or daytime scene of the city.  She gave me a wallet size card with the same scene on it but somehow it has gone missing. I think I loaned my set for a display and the wallet sized Nashville was not in the collection when it was returned. 

Fortunately she also gave me their old card. The arches on the card are very similar to the windows on the front of

the main Library building.

    She also gave me this very old card and told me a cute story. She said a lady presented this card when she wanted to check out books. 
     For those who are not familiar with this type of card the shiny metalic rectangle with reversed numbers is actually a metal band attached to a heavy weight paper card. The metal band contained the borrowers number and was used to record that number on book cards. 

     The lady who presented the card explained that she had used the library often before she had children. Now that they were all grown she had time to once again check out books and enjoy reading. She still had her library card from BK (Before Kids)  And of course they issued her a new card.  I can hear librarians and childrens library directors groaning. Sorry, I have no idea why she didn't take her children to the library.  Perhaps she was like the old woman in the shoe..and had so many children she didn't know what to do!

My wife collects library bags. She enjoys collecting them, and it is a way for us to do a little in supporting libraries.  While my wife purchased the bag the pleasant lady from the Edmondson Branch called to set up a tour of the main branch the next day.  The Edmondson Pike Branch was one of the most enthusiastic branches we have visited. They went out of their way to make us feel welcome and help us in every possible way. A big thank you to that staff.


     The main branch of the library is located down town Nashville. I was delighted to find that there was a parking ramp next to the library and surprised to discover you could walk from one of the levels of the parking ramp right into the library. If you went to a courtesy desk they issued a parking pass so even parking was at no cost.
     As a side note a couple weeks ago (spring 2011) when I tried to visit the main branch of the Cleveland, Ohio library I could not find anyplace to park within a reasonable walking distance. After two or three trips around the main branch and still no obvious place to park I gave up.
     Happily that was not the case here in Nashville. They get the award for best library parking I have ever had in a large metropolitan library.

Can you find the library in this picture of downtown Nashiville taken from near the State Capitol building?

How about now?

         

Yes you guessed right! This library seems dwarfed by the surrounding buildings but do not be fooled. This is a very large library.  It was newly constructed on this site in 2001. They did a great job.

This street level shot will give you a better perspective that it is indeed a large building. 








Yes, the man by the trash can is me. 

There were many wonderful things about the library. One of them was the outstanding childrens section. Oh I need to apologize for how yellow these pictures look. I had forgotten to reset my camera and as a result there is a noticable yellow look which is not really how the rooms looked. Having explained that let's look inside.

The photos above show a part of the children's large area. The 2004 computers have been updated.  I really liked the large children's keyboard and now that I wear bi-focals was wondering if they sold them to old guys like me.  The stage above on the left is for the puppet shows. Or rather I should say marionettes. Note the stage area in the bottom right photo. This picture shows only a portion of  the room where children gather and sit on the floor while watching. 

      Below see part of their collection. If I remember correctly the young woman (to the left) who showed me this department said they have some puppeteers (or what ever you call people who "pull the strings") on staff or there were professional people who presented high quality puppet shows.  Either way it is an unusual and wonderful part of this library.

A portion of the library puppet collection

      The rest of the nashville main library was as spectacular as the childrens area.

A portion of the double marble staircase to the
 second floor and the great reading room

  

At the top of the staircase is the Great Reading room, jusr behind the oversized doors shown above. These pictures do not give the full magnitude of this beautiful room.

The view from this room looks up a slight hill to the state Capitol, beyond which is the Centennial park that should not be missed on a trip to Nashville. (Although I must admit I did not see the Grand Ole Opry while in town.  I know..shame on me!)

Above is an example of one of the several specialty areas in the library. In the picture above to the left you can see one of the many aisles of books.  At the end of the aisle you can see a small statue in front of some windows. The picture above to the right is a close up of that same figure. It is one of several pieces of artwork located throughout the library.  The room where the "newsboy" is hawking his papers is used to house several years of local papers. 

This picture shows a typical view of the rows of books extending into the distance. Also note the empty shelves to provide plenty of room for additional books

 Above are some of the pleasant sitting areas. I thought the tables with the dividers that looked like roll top desks was especially interesting.  And below is one more area where you can sit and enjoy the library.

      

 This center courtyard is enclosed by the library building.  It is accessible and there are places to sit and read outside, while still within the library.  A very unique and welcome feature of this library with surprises around nearly every corner.  

      That almost completes our vist to the Nashville Library.  Oh yes, I did mention something about some magnificant art work.  If you are on Church St. facing the front of the library you will find an open space to the right of the building. There in all its simplicity sits this wonderful pile of books.  But these books are all made of solid stone from every continent (maybe not Antarctica)  and they are piled 26 high. One for each letter of the alphabet.  I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did

  

 I would love to receive any feedback on these libraries I have visited. Please drop me a note at davidwiseley@gmail.com

Be sure to check from time to time for additional libraries I will be adding. I try to add one each week so look on Monday or Tuesday.  I hope you have enjoyed these libraries.


  Librarians be sure to check the side bar for added material just for you.