CMLE is here for you with all kinds of resources and information. Each week we will share a look at another piece of that information, to help draw some attention to resources that may help you as you serve your community.
We love to visit our member libraries! Our whole purpose is to help to connect and communicate across our system of 300+ libraries of all types, and to share information. Going out to visit our members is one of the best ways we have to find out all the great things you are doing, and to work on new strategies to figure out what we can do to help you in the work you are doing.
And okay, yes: it is really one of the most fun parts of our jobs!
We are not the only ones who like to hear about everything in your library – all your colleagues across CMLE want to know what you are doing too! This is part of forming more connections between our members: getting to see what is going on in other libraries helps you to get some ideas to try in your own location.
Have we been to your library lately?? You know we want to come visit – so send us an email at admin@cmle.org to let us know what library you are in and give us a couple of dates we can come visit you!
The library had several levels but was open concept so I was able to get a good view as I climbed higher. Lots of places to read, work on computers, or learn from a variety of computerized displays.
There were lots of seating options, although I had to be careful around certain pieces of fragile furniture, like this couch. The sign reads (in both English and French): “This sofa is probably older than your grandmother. Please sit down gently, as you would on her knees.”
In this library, the furniture and shelving is not only size-appropriate for the audience they are trying to serve, but cute and colorful! (I love the way these round chairs look – enticing to kids!)
Colorful items are a key component in any cheerful library, especially in one serving younger patrons. These cute and colorful drawers are separated for different age groups, filled with activities to do after the students have finished their work. Puzzles, games, and things to color are part of the offerings – all easily sorted and accessible.
Shelves filled with nice-looking books make their contents enticing! The books are carefully labeled, to show patrons the different qualities of the books they may want to read. Books left on the shelves are not doing patrons any good, so this kind of marketing is great to see! (See that collection of blue Hardy Boys books? My brother and I read all of them, and seeing them in any library always makes me happy!)
Installing seating right at the point of material availability is a great idea! Give patrons the chance to be so entranced by the books they are finding, that they sink into a chair to look through them. Displaying popular or interesting books at eye level is another great way to be sure they are easily found by patrons.
Again, thinking about usability is key for patrons of any age. The descriptions of the Dewey numbers make a system that is incomprehensible to our patrons more understandable. I love to see these kinds of signs! If patrons understand the groupings of our materials, and know where to find things, they are more likely to take materials home with them – which is our goal! (Libraries do not collect items for ourselves – they are for our patrons to use.)
In addition to the cute (and useful!) furniture in this library, they have a regular display spotlighting authors! The books were flying off the shelves here – always great to see. Displaying materials draws the interest of patrons this way is always valuable for patrons – and the more they use materials, the better everyone does!
And of course, libraries are so much more than just books now! We are information centers, with all kinds of information literacy and resources for our patrons to use as they learn! 
I love this feature that I’m seeing in more libraries: a self-check system. In this library, patrons can return books themselves. This frees up staff time to focus on providing more in-person service to patrons; and it gives patrons a better understanding of one aspect of library operations, and another opportunity to practice their technology skills! When they go to a public library, they are likely to have a chance to self-check books; so this practice will be valuable.
And fundamentally libraries are here to provide instruction and assistance for their communities! We are information professionals, and here to help our communities access materials of all types. So this dedicated instructional location is not only really cute – but so important in providing quality service!
I was planning to visit the library in Grand Marais anyway, but the eye-catching art installation outside alerted me to the library before I even had a chance to Google it. I love the bright colors! When I went inside to chat with Director Steve Harsin, he had a small model on his desk – fantastic!
I did a big research project a few years ago, to find out what poeple want from their public libraries. “Comfortable seating” was one of the biggies! This is not a big surprise, of course: encouraging patrons to sit, relax, and enjoy some reading can help them to not only have a good experience in the library – but also encourage them to take home the great stuff they find on your shelves!
Even in the lobby area, the seating looks great – and I did test it out, so can affirm that it was indeed comfy! (Library research work never ends!!)
There are assorted library workstations across the area – very important in any rural area where internet access at home may not exist. Libraries have such an important role to play in communities by providing this kind of access to information. Yes, I’m biased (still!) – but we are just wonderful!
Just another example of the library serving the needs of all their different customers here! The whole library does not need to be silent – all that great information is just too exciting to keep quiet! But we have community members who want to come in, sit down, and just have some quiet time with their books and materials. This library is providing that experience.
I love seeing Reference desks in libraries! Their names may change, but their functions never do: This is where you go to get help from an information expert. If you need assistance finding just the right book, or working on your resume, or uncovering a complicated question – the people at the Reference desk are here to help!
At CMLE, we are big fans of libraries – and of our supporters: library Friends and volunteers! (Check out 
I was so entranced by everything else in the library that I didn’t even see this until I went back outside to relax in a chair and enjoy the free WiFi (thanks!!): a ping pong table!! The sign encourages people to go inside and check out the equipment to play. I absolutely love to see this kind of fun stuff in a library. We are awesome places, filled with great things – and fun is always a part of that!!
The tech lab is nicely outfitted with laptops for students. Having this room connected to the library, and a significant part of it, means students are connected to information in paper and digital formats – both important for their skill development.
Also in the tech lab are the YA novels. Like all school libraries working with a broad range of student ages and experience levels, thinking about ways to share books in an age-appropriate, or useful, way is part of the process of designing the book placement.
And I just loved this! As is true in most libraries, space and access are at a premium. These bookshelves hold books for the younger patrons, and used to be turned on their sides. But you can just imagine the chaos when excited young patrons start pushing books out of the way to get to their very favorite one! So they flipped the shelf over, and now all the kids can reach the books, and they stay (reasonably) organized! Libraries are great places for being innovative, and figuring out how to serve our community members in great ways.
I love Nancy Drew, and Hardy Boys, books – so this was very fun to see!! (I may have gushed with happiness here just a bit.) I grew up reading these yellow and blue covered versions of the books – and of course I watched every episode of the TV show!
It’s always good to see community involvement in any library – and student/patron created art is such a great sign of library interest! This technology art hanging on the library wall is both eye-catching, and shows off the future directions of the library and the patrons in it!
