Across the street from the library and southwest a block or so is Lilly’s Kitchen Table.
It was about 11:15 am—fairly late for breakfast and a bit early for lunch—so there weren’t a lot of people in the place. There’s an open area with table seating just inside the door and then a counter and booths going toward a couple of tables in the back. I had what they called their Big Breakfast—2 eggs, bacon, hash browns and 2 pancakes—and it was all great.
Well satisfied, I headed back up the street to the library. As striking as it is from the outside, the inside is every bit as striking, with its rippled ceiling and a very large children’s area, labeled “Harper’s Grove.”
Straight ahead I could see all the way to the circulation desk and beyond, with a long opening above to let more natural light into the center of the library (below left). And turning around, I was impressed by the expansive two-story atrium reading area with all its windows and a dramatic staircase (below right).
I headed down to the rear entrance to return some books, and from there I could look back the length of the library’s first floor.
This is a new library, opened late in 2016, and according to the library website its 48,000 square feet allowed for double the public space of the previous library as well as a major expansion of the children's area (below left), an early literacy section, and a teen room (below right).
The brightly lit reading area near the fiction section on the first floor looks especially inviting.
After browsing for a while, I headed upstairs to where mysteries and science fiction are shelved. At the top of the stairs I found study rooms and lots of computers for public use.
There are also great views overlooking the first floor—the atrium space, the children’s section, and the light well looking down at the center aisle of the first floor.
I explored a number of possible places to sit and read—like the grouping of chairs at the far end of the second floor (below left) and at the far end of the nonfiction stacks (below right).
While exploring, I noted a Board Room along with several more study rooms.
But the space I found most inviting for reading was the quiet reading room with a fireplace and views down onto Broadway. There were instructions posted on where to inquire about getting the fireplace lighted, but the room was plenty warm. So as soon as I had found some books to borrow, I settled in there for a couple of hours reading.
Eventually it was time to go check out my three “finds” of the day. Only the Jo Nesbo book was on the “want list” I had with me. The other two were on the new books display.
On my way back to my car, I stopped to read a bronze historical plaque on the empty building right across Broadway from the library. It notes how the first public library in Grove City was organized there by the Women’s Civic Club.
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