Roselle Public Library - part 1

I had been putting off covering Roselle for a while now because of the construction going on inside. But then I decided it could be useful to talk about what a library does during its construction, so I went ahead and revisited them today to take photos.

Bear in mind, in addition to being under construction, Roselle is a small public library. A lot of what we'll see is how RPL has handled having a lack of space to start with, and how that lack of space has challenged them during the process.

But, before that, a few pics from the entrance. I like how there's a book drop outside in such a convenient location. Also note, if you can read it, they open their doors at 9:30. Workers show up at 9 and get a half-hour to work off-desk -- which seems like it could be a good thing to have, particularly if you don't want your staff reading their book club book at the public desk, or need some time to set up a morning program before patrons start showing up.

I wish I had taken this picture from further back to give you a sense of space, but this is a big easel-sized poster ad for what is, surprisingly, Roselle's biggest family event of the year. As such, it is the biggest and best placed ad in the lobby.

Thanks to this overhead view from upstairs in Children's, you can see the lobby area through those sliding doors (and the bottom of the model railroad showcase ad). Clockwise from there, you can see a book sale area, the hallway to the restrooms, how conveniently located a copier is from the entrance, and the edge of the circulation desk.

This is from the adjoining hallway in the above photo, with the washrooms on my left, the water fountains on my right, and around the corner in that next hallway is where you can find the library's only elevator. There's a little signage there saying "it's okay, you can come in here and use the elevator,"* but it looks like an off-limits hallway and I wonder how often the librarians have to dispel that notion.

*(That's not literally what it says.)

And then, just past the circulation desk (not pictured here) is the first collection in the library -- and it's my favorite! Seeing graphic novels so prominent in a public library is very exciting to me. It's a good-sized collection with lots of variety -- and I would expect no less from a library employing a professor who teaches about graphic novels. A possible future problem -- it has no room for growth, without filling in those display shelves.

And here is a collection -- audiobooks -- that was displaced by the construction. With nowhere else free to store them, they have taken over the library's collection of book carts. Behind them is the periodicals section, which I believe was always there.

Now, don't ask me why the audiobooks are on carts and not these empty shelves, unless they were expecting these shelves to be back in place in the Teen Zone already. The Teen Zone is normally an open area with "soft borders" and is only temporarily behind this impenetrable wall as construction goes on behind it. In fact, almost all the furniture you see in this photo is displaced Teen Zone furniture. My favorite is the dynamically shaped display stand in the foreground. I'm less sold on the mushroom cap-like stools; it's hard to tell until you sit on them if they are the soft stools meant for your butt, or the hard stools that are meant to be used as mini-tables.

I am guessing that is just temporary signage reminding people where the Teen Zone was...though I honestly can't recall if those signs were there before.

And here is the Teen Zone wall, as seen from the other side (and from the vantage point of the stairs heading up to Children's). There is a lot of vertical space here that was just empty, so it is now going to be filled with hanging chandeliers (and, sadly, I took the picture too low for you to see it, but one should be there already). About half that space is the Teen Zone, with the half closer to me being overflow for the adult collection.