Note to visitors: said view may be obstructed by docked cruise ships. Drat.
I recall the old Main Street location, with the children's collection to the left-and-back, an ominous wall of skull-and-crossbones spines depicting mystery novels along a hallway to the basement, and the basement itself, full of microfilm and newspapers. My card was a blue index card with an imprinted metal plate used to mark out the cards of books I was taking, while the librarian simultaneously rubber-date-stamped the card pocket in my book.
During my childhood, the library moved to the ground floor of the "spam can" office buildings further down Main Street. I assume the entire collection was there, but I was focused on the rows of juvenile fiction in the shelves below the window onto the sidewalk. I read and re-read all of the Oz series, as well as the Raggedy Ann & Andy books, and many others.
The City then built its first parking garage (er, did I mention I'm from a relatively small town?), atop which was the library. The elevator opens onto a long, curved pathway through the shelves and seating areas. Midway down and on the right is a large conference room, made "private" by floor-to-ceiling glass. I vaguely recall having a few Junior Honor Block Thursday seminars there. By the time we had these state-of-the-art facilities, JPL had automated their check-out system and I possessed a thin plastic card instead of a 4x6 piece of cardstock.
I learned about inter-library loans while visiting this branch. My research books included bibliographies of more interesting research and a librarian was helpful in finding these texts for me. I was no longer limited to items within the city and state libraries, and could have just about anything from anywhere. The possibilities were overwhelming! (I currently can experience that overwhelm by click- click- clicking through link-to-link from website-to-website. The quest is endless!)
The local libraries continue to be an important part of my family's life. In addition to TPL privileges, city residents enjoy reciprocity with the county system, and fantastic online benefits of both, including title searches, reserves, and downloads (I just downloaded a 3-week "checkout" of Aragon in audio for Helen). My daughter is an active participant in both summer reading programs, and seems to appreciate the generous book allowance she has with a wave her her library key fob. In addition to seeking out titles I have even a passing interest in, I enjoy browsing the shelves for something "catchy" for bedtime reading. Ken likes to feed his sports book addiction (and I like that it doesn't fill up our storage space!).Anyway, Happy Birthday, JPL, and thank you for nurturing my library "habit."
I remember the cards with metal on them too! Didn't the downtown branch start in that pink building by the capitol where the city museum is now? I'd forgotten about the spam can. It's really wonderful though when you can walk into a library, years later and quite grown up, and have the librarian recognize you and be glad you're back.
ReplyDelete