Glenside Public Library

I hit another public library recently, an old favorite of mine called Glenside Public Library. I used to stop by here often; it was the first public library in the area that had a scanner for public use, and the express computers for non-residents were super handy for me.

Things have changed a lot inside the library, and I'll show you some of those changes.

For one thing, when they wanted to expand and make the library more spacious, instead of expanding from side to side, they went up.

Although Children's has always had its own wing of the building, all adults and teens always shared the same space before in the old building. Now the building is broken up much more into different spaces.

The de-emphasizing of books in the library is most evident in where you have to go to find the adult book collection these days. Aside from new books, which are up front by the computers, the rest of the collection is hidden down this long side passage and around the corner to the left. On the plus side, they've certainly made a quiet space down there.

The view outside the windows is one of the best parts of visiting the library, as it is surrounded by copious amounts of pretty park district land.  Here, I suspect this garden area is cared for by the library instead of the park district.

At the circulation desk were these nice bags you can buy to help support the Friends of the Library organization (and it's always nice to see an active Friends of group).

But what impressed me most was this idea -- instead of forcing everyone to have uniform library cards, Glenside allows its patrons to pick from 12 different designs!