It has been great to visit our member libraries, with groups of CMLE members (and fans! all are welcome) – and we will keep up this program!! We are working on visiting all types of libraries, as we are a multitype system. We have much more in common in services and programs and materials, than the small differences in the focus of our different libraries.
Our next visit will be to the Buffalo High School. We will tour this library Tuesday, May 9th at 2:00. As always, we understand if people are coming from work and other obligations; so feel free to come a little late or depart early.
We will have two cars leaving from CMLE Headquarters, and you are welcome to ride with us if you would like to do that. There is plenty of parking here, where you can leave your car.
You may remember that CMLE has already had one visit to this library – and it was a lot of fun!
We would love to see all of you there, and will have a report back for anyone who is not able to make it. If there is interest, we may go have a late lunch/snack/chatting time after this visit. It’s always good to have a chance to see each other in person, and we should take advantage of it!
This is a very neat location; it is multi-use, headquartering not only the library but also the police station and a local museum. These kinds of buildings are fun to visit, and it’s always interesting to see how the organizations can cooperate together!
And check out this very cool activity center! Kids can come in the library, and immediately head to a place where a variety of fun things will be available for them to play with in the library. (Okay, yes – I played with a few things too. Look how fun this is!) 
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!
Usability in libraries means making things usable for their patrons, and providing this kind of comfortable seating near popular periodicals is a great way to do this. And the view outside that window is lovely; it would be hard to focus on school work, but I’m sure the students persevere!
Although not in the library, this lovely patio area is just outside the library entrance. Look at that view! There are all kinds of trails here, for lunchtime hiking or trail running practice. It is always so nice to see a school that is thinking about the interests of their students this way.