Lincoln Highway: Sterling Public Library
Statement I've never uttered before: Wait until you see the FLOORS!!
This one is just across the river from the last library (Rock Falls). And it also was lovely, and yes, you can say Sterling Public Library is pretty sterling! (I bet I’m not the first person to make a lame, but accurate, dad joke!)
I like a big, bold sign! Be a library, and be proud of it all! Tell your community that you are there! Excellent.
Look! Gwendolyn Brooks!!! An Illinois author!!! “Gwendolyn Brooks is one of the most influential and widely read 20th-century American poets. The author of more than 20 books, she was highly regarded even during her lifetime and had the distinction of being the first Black poet to win the Pulitzer Prize. She was also the first Black woman to hold the role of Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, a position now referred to as the Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry, and served as the Illinois poet laureate for 32 years.”
It’s so great to see a library celebrating the great work of an important Illinois author!
I do like DVDs. And for all of us who like some older shows, you can’t find them in digital format and it’s good to have it in a physical format. And, as a copyright person, I feel like I should remind you that you never OWN a digital item - you are only licensing it. (I just had Audible yank away a whole series of books that I had loved - and had paid for. Sigh.) So if you love a TV series, or a movie, or audiobooks - buy a physical copy.
LOOK AT THOSE FLOORS! I’m in the older part of this building, in the stacks, and those floors are glass!!!
You can’t exactly see through them, but you kind of can. And IT’S JUST SO COOL!!! It feels old, it looks beautiful, and you really feel like you are in a special library.
Here’s a shot looking down the aisles, to the windows at the end of each one. That lets in the light, so it feels bright enough, but not overly glaring - just right.
(When I was there a day camp of kids was running through the stacks, chasing each other and having fun. And I remembered being a day camp kid, who would have thought it was AMAZING levels of fun to chase through these stacks, up and down the narrow little stairs, and such.)
I worked in bookstores for a while, and we got a lot of discussion there about facing books. Publishers pay a ton of money for the covers, and they are supposed to be selling the books. So: face books whenever you can! Selling books in libraries is getting people to take them home, but it’s the same idea. Show the covers, let people see the topics of the displays, and let them find something they will enjoy!
And finally, I’m realizing what a fan I am of seating! We’ve seen a bunch of bench seating, diner style. But these rounded seats, with the rounded table, would look good in a diner and good in a library!! I think it’s these kinds of interesting, unique little details that catch the eye and help to give the library a positive feel, that hooks patrons and encourages them to come back again.
After the historic parts of this library, and the wonderful Gwendolyn Brooks display, I’m feeling historical today. Maybe it’s a good day for everyone to find a history book, or historical fiction, or even poetry. Sit somewhere comfortable, and just enjoy yourself!