Former State Librarian Jo Budler visited the following libraries in August: Cleveland Public Library, Ohio Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled, East Cleveland Public Library, Medina County Public Library
August 31, 2009
Cleveland Public Library
The trip began at Cleveland Public Library. This meeting gave me an opportunity to give Director Felton Thomas an overview of the roles, responsibilities, and programs of the State Library. Each State Library and state library community is unique and it was pleasant to discuss with him how different Ohio is from Nevada.
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After our visit, we went on a short tour of the Cleveland Public Library (CPL). Each time I visit CPL I discover a new treasure trove in the vast collections. On August 31st, we visited the map department which houses over 6000 maps. Thomas Edwards, the Map/GIS librarian discussed the CPL digital collection and the plans for the future. This wonderful resource can be found at www.cpl.org, then click on “Do Research” and “CPL Image Collections”. We also visited the photograph collection. There one can find over 2 million photos, divided by portraits and subjects.
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The next stop was the Ohio Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled. On July 1 Cleveland Public Library began providing Braille and Talking Book service for the entire state. Barbara Mates and her staff are doing an extraordinary job of providing a seamless transition for patrons of the Cincinnati service, merging the collections at the same time while the new digital talking book machine is being distributed from the National Library Service (NLS). The shelves and shelves of talking book material is impressive as is the commitment of the staff in providing this important service.
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East Cleveland Public Library is a beautifully renovated facility. Built in 1916 it underwent additions in 1952 and 2005. The Cleveland Foundation gave the Library $1M for the 2005 addition and under the leadership of Director Greg Reese, the library raised an additional $4 million. The library is the proud owner of a Presidential Letter Collection. Although it was thought the letters might have to be sold to cover costs of the addition, other funds came through.
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The library also underwent an extensive renovation in 1991 which led to a large increase of activity in the library. Mr. Reese’s philosophy is to provide positive experiences to people in their library and that this will bring people back. It is apparent that this is working judging by the activity within the library!
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East Cleveland Public Library was the first public library in Cuyahoga County to have a public computer lab. Now there are two and both were full during our visit.
Of particular pride is the Gregory L. Reese Performing Arts theatre which has been deemed one of the best intimate performance venues in the Cleveland area. The Cleveland Opera, Cleveland Symphony, and Tri-C Jazz Fest are examples of artists who have performed in the 240 seat theatre.
The newest service of the library is a section dedicated to Minority Health Information. This is a collaborative project with Huron Hospital/Cleveland Clinic and includes books from the library collection as well as pamphlets from the hospital and other organizations dedicated to health issues.
The library transcends the old and the new – from the Cowan Pottery Fireplace to the Icabod Flewellen collection of African Art. If you have not yet had an opportunity to visit, you have a wonderful venue awaiting you!
Medina County Public Library
August 13, 2009
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I had a beautiful drive up to Medina County District Library from Columbus on Thursday, August 13th. Arriving early always allows me to take a quick tour on my own but here in Medina I could not get past the gorgeous mural landscape in the entrance way. The picture you see here in my log does not do it any justice at all.It is breathtaking – literally!
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I visited Medina County District Library and three branches: Lodi, Brunswick and Highland. Each outlet is unique and I will give some highlights of each later in this log. But one thing each of these outlets has in common: library users who love their library, many of whom wanted to let me know this fact. How wonderful to be on a tour and have a patron beam at you and say, “Isn’t this library wonderful? I use it every day and I love it.”
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The other outstanding feature of all Medina County District Library facilities is the prevalence of art. All had gorgeous quilts hanging in the facilities (you will see pictures of a few of these here) and other pieces of art including rotating artwork from a local art museum at Highland; art by artist Franklin Bates at Lodi; stained glass artwork by Bob Pozarski and a landscape abstract art quilt entitled “Woodlands” by Wooster artist Sonja Henney Tugend at Brunswick (for more info go to http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/4508342); and the tile landscape at Medina.
Two highlights of the children’s areas included: Peek-A-Book which actually allowed me to listen to a children’s book just long enough to know that I wanted to check it out and the active beehive in the children’s area of the Medina library.
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I was intrigued with how the surrounding environment was actually brought into the library: river stones in the children’s desk and the river flooring complete with frogs and fish at the Brunswick branch; actual reeds incorporated in the design within the Highland branch (almost mirroring the wetlands that surround the library).
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Medina County District Library is instituting a “We Read…” program in September. To learn more about it, go to http://www.mcdl.info/
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I want to give a special thank you to Carole Kowell for taking me on an extensive tour and also to the Directors of the branches that I visited: Betsy Gilder, Susan Ungham, and Diane Dermody.