Pataskala Public Library

After more than week of summer heat wave, today’s predicted high of 78 with lots of sun made it a perfect day to drive out of the city to visit the public library in Pataskala—a town of about 16,000 about 17 miles east of Columbus. In addition, I was really looking forward to eating a late breakfast at the Nutcracker Family Restaurant there, which describes itself as a 50s style diner (click HERE).

As the photos below make clear, the 50s elements are present throughout the restaurant—along with a massive collection of more than 200 nutcrackers. (The neon sign above the red car says, “Step Back to the 50s.”) I really enjoyed a fine plate of ham & eggs with blueberry pancakes. The pies sure looked tempting.

It was only a few blocks from the Nutcracker to the Pataskala Public Library located on S. Vine St. in a quiet neighborhood of tree-lined streets. The library has been at this location since 1969 and underwent an extensive renovation in 2010/2011.

Upon entering the library the first thing I noticed was just how much space was devoted to books, with the adult section to the left of the circulation desk and the children’s & teen’s sections to the right. In so many of the newer libraries the books seem to be pushed off to the side. And while I understand that libraries these days are offering a lot more than just books (like the computer stations on both sides), I do like the sense of being surrounded by shelves upon shelves of books.

On around to the right toward the front of the building there is a large open storytelling and play area for younger children. The area for teens is toward the rear of the building. Computers for children and teens are located back towards the circulation desk. And everywhere there are shelves of age-appropriate books.

To the left from the library entrance is a small study room, a large set of shelves for new books, and a number of computers for adult patrons of the library.

A little farther on is a group of comfortable chairs as well as an alcove with a small couch and shelves for periodicals.

Surrounded by the fiction and nonfiction bookshelves at the rear of this side of the building are a couple of small study tables, and I spotted an old-school piece of equipment I hadn’t seen in recent visits to other libraries—namely, a microfilm reader.

I especially enjoyed browsing in the well-lighted stacks in both ends of this library, seeking out books from my Amazon wish list as well as surprises.

I also had fun checking out some of the more unusual items on display in this library. The cat figurine is just so wonderfully whimsical.

I ended up finding so many potential books to borrow that I had to pick and choose to get down to just the three books below—one from the juvenile shelves and two from the science fiction section. Unlike last week, I was able to check them out without getting another library card. The librarian told me that right now only the Fairfield County system and the Alexandria library require their own library cards.

Having explored the library and checked out the three books, I settled into one of the comfortable chairs to read for a couple of hours.  I finished the book I brought with me and turned it in, leaving me with just seven library books checked out at the present time. I'm hoping to get more caught up by next week's library visit.