When you visit the Paynesville public library, you immediately know this is a library where you will feel at home, where they are interested in your library experience, and where they have taken care to be sure you find what you want.

You can see that right away in this library, as you head right for this very welcoming desk! Great material, lots of colors, fun displays – it’s all right here! You come in here, and you know you are going to enjoy yourself, and find people who will help you get everything you need.

I love this display! Not only are the materials easy to see and easy to find, but look at that art on the wall! This kind of detail can really help attract your patrons to material around your library.

On a nearby wall is this creative and obvious statement that good times are to be found right here! Again, drawing this kind of attention to the great things a library has to offer means patrons can easily find things they want.

Helping patrons to feel comfortable in any library should be a priority for staff. In this library, you can see that a relatively small space is arranged to make it feel open; and this comfy couch would inspire people to plop down and enjoy reading a book, or a magazine, or the newspaper. Thinking about these kinds of uses for your space can be a great way to either drive patrons away from a dark, overcrowded library, or inspire them to come inside and enjoy all your great stuff!

I love to see bookshelves, and these shelves, with such a nice mix of titles faced out to draw the eye, neat rows, and those cool book kits, just makes you want to grab a whole bunch of books and go read them on the couch! (I’m sure that can’t just be me – look at those great materials!)

Involving members of the community in the work you do is a great way to inspire them to keep coming back to your library. And this community -created art is such a great demonstration! Each flower here was painted by a different person; so kids can bring their parents inside and show them the specific artistic masterpiece they created! Adding in art is always good, and there are several other paintings around this library. Adding in these bright colors makes any building feel more cheerful and welcoming!

While I can’t guarantee that everyone will be fortunate enough to get a personalized tour of this library – you just might! The staff are all enthusiastic about their work and their library, and you can see that not only in their excitement over their materials, but in this nice Juvenile Fiction collection!

And what is this space? It is inside the neatest library playhouse I’ve seen!! Built by library staff and family, this fantastic house is in the Children’s section of the library. You can go thru the door, if you are appropriately sized, and then test out the furniture inside. There are even all these great murals around the inside of the house – it’s fantastic!

I’ve said this many times, but every library I’ve ever visited had some interesting and cool things – and you can really see it here!

If we have not visited your library yet, we miss you!! Let us know when we can come visit!