Yesterday we registered at the new and improved Wheaton library. They just expanded it and re-opened to the public less than a month ago. The main reason we decided to sign up is after taking a little self-guided tour, it looks like a really nice place to take the kids when they are visiting. Since it’s a little further away, we probably won’t use it as our main library, but will borrow CDs and other materials we can’t find at ours.
Let me tell you, the library is huge inside! I haven’t been to a larger library since visiting the Harold Washington library in Chicago. There are three levels with books as far as the eye can see and they have a very respectable audio/visual section.
The entire lower level of the library is all kids’ stuff. The most interesting thing we found was the bank of computers pre-loaded with educational software. There are two tables with six computers each. One table is for preschool and kindergarten aged children and the other table is for 1st-5th graders. They also have a ton of computer software that can be checked out. All the shelves are kid-height which is not only logical, but really cute. They keep the books geared toward the youngest children closest to the entrance which makes sense since those kids usually have to be carried or pushed in a stroller.
Everything in the library is organized well with plenty of places to sit and relax with a good book. Even the lighting changes depending on the area. The kids’ area is brighter than the adults’, yet the lighting is thoughtfully reduced in the computer areas. I love that they thought of everything! Kudos to whomever designed the layout of the library. Now if only someone could re-design their awful website!
Ah, some library lovin’! It’s a very good thing.