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Describe your impressions of the community you chose to walk and/or drive through. Describe your impressions of the community’s library. What was the most impressive thing you saw and what was the most negative thing you saw? Why did you respond (both positively and negatively) to the things you did?

I had an opportunity to walk thru Spencer's public library a few weeks ago......I was very impressed with the size and decor of the
place......The first thing I noticed was how odviously the librarian "whispered" to me - and she continued this the entire 15 or 20
minutes I was there.......We speak softly, but don't "stage whisper" here at our library.
The ICN room at Spencer is very nice....very impressive.....the public meeting room as well is very impressive - it is round in shape
and features art work on display.....The Children's area sports a ceiling to floor - 20 foot wide window on the world......there are
plants and flowers outside the window.....nice
Spencer is a larger town than Paullina and I thought I could notice that by the types of people that were in the library in the
middle of the day....I don't know how to describe it but it seemed different to me.
I think Spencer is very fortunate to have such a library........and I hear it used to even have a CAT!!!!!! named Dewey, no less!!
The library in Spencer is centrally located it seemed to me. The staff member I spoke with said the city council of Spencer is
thinking of moving the Library out to the south west edge of town - I think this would be a mistake and an inconvenience for many
people - I hope for their sake that it doesn't happen.
My impression of the actual town of Spencer was quite positive.....seems like a nice place to live and work.......

I am familiar with the community I chose to visit and while I do not spend a lot of time in the city, I am of the opinion that this is a progressive community. There is a rejuvenation project going on to spruce up the city. They have opened the old depot six days a week. And have made other changes and lots of new plans for signage into town. The most impressive thing about their library is the architecture, and the beautiful stained glass. I am also impressed with the geneology department which is most impressive and extensive. I loved the art work in the permanent collection. The surrounding were pleasant, clean and bright. The book displays were interesting and many. I was struck by the quiet of the library. Silence is short lived in ours when school gets out. The most negative thing was not what I saw, but rather what I felt. The staff seemed cool rather than warm and welcoming. Maybe this is just a big city thing.
I love beautiful architecture, I am an artist and love beauty in all forms. Stained glass windows are a favorite architectural feature of mine. Their permanent collections are spectacular in my opinion. As for the staff, I am not sure what I am reacting to. Maybe the coolness I perceive is only the library hat they wear on the job. Jealousy comes to mind. I wish I had at least one more person on my staff to work with. AND MORE SPACE!!!

I visited a town close by about double the size of Ellsworth. The community school is in this town, plus 5 churches, and a very active main street. The streets are clean or someone is continuously working to make them clean. I like clean without clutter so that impressed me. The Library is very up to date with all their signage, computers and special interest areas. They are a Trust Library, also have special levi taxes plus city budget so they have money to spend. They have 3 employees that work part-time. The Library Director has been there many years so everything seems under control. It is a very welcoming place to go, well lit, and easy to find what a patron is looking for. They do not have handicapped accessible doors so found it was hard to get in three doors not too far apart and I am not handicapped.

I went to a town larger than ours but close by so mainly the same rural area. I was impressed with the room they had and the childrens area had a loft which made me jealous. They had a large bulletin board with all the things that were happening in town and in the library. I have a very small bulletin board so it is hard to display a lot of news. The library is relatively new and centered in town. It is a progressive town and the library showed this as you drove by. They had lots of different areas to sit and read but they seemed kind of remote. What surprised me the most is that the childrens area was way to the back of the library where it would be hard to supervise. The computers were in a room by themselves so there was no way to supervise that area either. Maybe they have more staff and have people in these different sections but when I was there, there was no one in any of these places. I guess in a way I kind of liked the personal touch my little library has when people are around.

The Massena Public Library is a small town Library close to my Library. I hadn't been in it since they moved. This was a wonderful assignment for me. Walking down the stree has a pleasant and peacefull surroundings with small town atmosphere. The smells of home cooking in the air made me hungry. The Library is new to the community a few years ago. Walking in the Library you see the children's area and many children in the play area. They had large stuffed animals at a tea party. It was very welcoming for children. There were organized books in a well lighted room. There was a separate room for games and other activities. Librarians desk was handy for all ages. They also had a small toilet for small children. What a neat idea!! I didn't notcie anything negative about the town or Library. This Library makes you feel welcome from the time you walk in the door until you walk out. It would have been fun to have been a little child at the tea party or an adult or teen putting the puzzle together.

leldred Springville, I agree with your comment on the shelving. We have wood shelving and find it warm and "quiet". No bokks being banged on it or the book ends sliding. Our whole library has a warm wood theme so it was a given to have wooden shelving.
I thought this activity was fun, anytime our family go to a different town the library is always top on the list.

I went to a community that is about the same size as my own. I thought that the community as very clean and postive to all outsiders and there seemed to be a lot of them. The most impressive thing I noticed was the number of staff that they had on hand to do work and help patrons. They were able to help at the drop of a hat. Also, they said hello and goodbye. One thing I did not like was that there where many steps and the decor was dated, but that is always a hard aspect to improve with any amount of funds. But overall they were doing a very good job keeping the library update although the building is showing its age.

I like the idea a the tea party with the stuffed animals. that is something we could use as we have 2 tables with chairs that could use some dressing up. I am glad you told us about it.

The community I visited is quite a bit bigger than my little town. There are a lot of different businesses and outside of town several factories. It seems like a progressive place, but I know for a fact that there have been a lot of lay-offs in these factories. The library is wonderful. It is in it's own building, and so much room!. They have a whole basement that, except for a computer room used for classes, is just waiting to be finished and put to use. The library itself is so big and open, lots of windows and bright. What I especially liked is even though the space is large, the separate areas are cozy. The children's area has a big, open space just waiting for kids to gather around for a story hour or activities. The shelves there are also low; all the easier for little people to reach. I believe there was an area for the teens. The computers are somewhat spread around. I found myself wondering how they can keep track of what people are doing on them in case there is a problem patron as sometimes happens. Another thing that struck me was how there always seemed to be people coming and going. Somedays, I hardly have a customer. I guess that's where the difference in population comes into play.