Much of the vibe that I love when exploring a library comes from the dark, cloistered corners filled with dusty books and brittle pages.  Our library has some of those wonderful nooks, but today I’ll highlight a spot that is equally enjoyable but quite the opposite in terms of ambiance.

The children’s department at our library consists of two rooms.  One is a very large area with lots of books, DVDs, music, computers, a play area, cozy seating, and a gazebo that my boys adore.  The smaller room can be closed off by large wooden doors.  Nonfiction books are in this area, and it is often used for special events like the puppet show that I mentioned last week.  These are all wonderful attributes of a library, but the feature that strikes me most about the children’s department is the bright, open atmosphere.  The high ceilings, the warm lighting, and the soft yellow paint on the walls give the whole area a honey glow.  We enter this area from the main section of the library via a small corridor that has a low ceiling and no lighting of its own.  Emerging into the children’s department makes me feel like Dorothy stepping into Munchkinland.  We are drawn into the colors and textures of books and rugs and cushions and beads and paper and crayons.  Can you tell I love it here?