When I decided last night to visit the Karl Road Branch Library, I consulted Google Maps to see what restaurants might be close by in the neighborhood for lunch. Initially I was disappointed not to find any diners, but I did notice there were a number of nearby African restaurants. Given that there are large numbers of African immigrants living in this part of Columbus, I decided to eat at the Drelyse African Restaurant on Tamarack Circle, which specializes in Ghanaian cuisine. When I got there at 11:30 am the place was empty, but I was welcomed warmly. It’s a small place that is very nicely decorated with tables set with drinking goblets along with cloth napkins and table cloths. I counted seating for 28. The large portrait on the wall is of Nelson Mandella. I had a Sambusa appetizer and then the Jollof Rice with Goat, both of which were excellent. (Note to self: take my wife Kathy here for dinner sometime.)
From Drelyse I headed to the library, which (according to the CML website) was constructed in 1988. Last fall the CML Board selected an architect to design a new library for the same site that will approximately double the current 20,000 square feet. Construction is expected to begin in the next year or so. Walking up to the library from Karl Rd. I stopped to photograph a metal sculpture near the entrance.
From the entrance doors, a striking atrium with arched, translucent skylight extends the full length of the library, with the circulation desk located just inside to the right and a large children’s area to the left.
The bright and inviting children’s area gets lots of natural light from several large windows. Along with a great many bookshelves for children’s books, the area includes a Ready for Kindergarten area with “yellow school bus,” a seating area, and a half dozen computers for children’s use, and a number of tables with chairs.
Since I’d so much enjoyed a Mo Willems book on last week's visit to the Millersport Library Kiosk, I decided to see what might be available here by him. I found several of his books in two different sections, and I especially enjoyed sitting down to read Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed (an old favorite with a great title) and the Elephant & Piggie book Listen to My Trumpet (which has a great twist near the end).
Looking from the children’s area back toward the circulation desk, my eyes were caught by the three brightly colored bird sculptures high up on the far wall.
On the right side of the atrium past the circulation desk there are shelves for the fiction New Arrivals. Today, both books I ended up deciding to check out came from here.
Farther on down the atrium on the right there’s a room full of computers, nearly all of which were in use, followed by a reading and study area with a separate Homework Help room with the usual accompanying display of college banners I have found in all of the Columbus Metropolitan Libraries so far.
Across the atrium from the computer and homework help areas are the main stacks for first Adult Nonfiction and then Adult Fiction. The walkway between the two section leads to a wall of windows lined with study tables.
Just past the adult book stacks is a separate area for teens with shelves for Teen & Young Adult Fiction and Nonfiction books.
At the far end of the atrium is a comfortable reading area with racks of newspapers and magazines.
I selected one of the cushioned chairs backing up to the window in this room as a great place to sit and read for the next hour or so, with lots of natural light and a great view back up the atrium to the library entrance.
A little after 2 pm I decided it was time to go back to the circulation desk to check out the two books I’d selected from the New Arrivals: S. L. Huang’s Null Set (a sequel to a book I’d checked out from the Linden Branch library back in January) and The Department of Sensitive Crimes, the first book in a planned series by Alexander McCall Smith. I enjoyed my visit to this library very much, and I hope to visit the new facility when it opens 2-3 years from now. And I especially enjoyed my first experience of an African restaurant.
[Note: Somehow I never got photos of either the Study Room or the Meeting Room at the library.]
When I began exploring Central Ohio libraries last fall, I didn’t see anything about a library of any kind in Millersport. That’s because the Millersport Library Kiosk did not exist. It was dedicated in April of this year, and I didn’t learn about it until shortly before I visited the Baltimore Branch Library in mid-July. What’s a library kiosk? Think a vending machine for books and other library materials. How cool is that? People have 24/7 access to check out books, DVDs, and audio books. I immediately began thinking of going to see it in combination with a visit to Buckeye Lake and spend some reading along the lake shore.
Last Saturday (8/10/19) seemed the perfect day for my wife Kathy and me to drive over for the day. The weather prediction was mostly sunny with a high of 80. But first I needed to find a good restaurant (preferably a diner) for brunch—which I did in the Olde Canal Restaurant, a family style diner in Millersport alongside the Ohio & Erie Canal channel off the lake. A restaurant of some kind has been there since 1940.
Kathy had a western omelet and home fries, while I had a hearty breakfast of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and home fries. Unfortunately it was still a bit too cool in the morning to eat out on the deck over the canal.
After breakfast we walked for a while along the canal. There’s a public mooring across the road for people who might want to boat in to eat at the restaurant. Then we headed to the library kiosk, which is located on Refugee St. in front of the Millersport Police offices at Veterans Park.
The kiosk itself is in a glass-walled enclosure that has a cement patio and two benches in front. Again, think library in a vending machine. Behind glass, each of the three rows of books rotates, so customers can browse through about 350 separate items and make their selections using a large touch screen (behind me in the photo). I learned in July that one of the library staff people from the Baltimore Branch comes over regularly to restock the kiosk.
On the left end of the kiosk is a touch screen computer where people can search the entire Fairfield County Library catalog and place items on hold. There is also free WiFi access through the Fairfield Library system.
To the right of the kiosk people can check out digital books, while against the right wall there is a bank of lockers where people can pick up library materials placed on hold.
Kathy and I had fun browsing through the range of materials available. The upper shelves have slots for thinner books, while the lower shelf have wider slots. We both found several possibilities to check out. So the next step was to scan my library card and enter the slot numbers for the various items we’d selected. As we did so, the shelves rotated, and books were delivered one-by-one from a conveyor below the check out instructions.
I found two books from my Amazon wish list—a thriller and a Young Adult novel by a favorite author. Kathy found a mystery in a series by Joanne Fluke. We also checked out a children’s book to read there at the kiosk so we then could see what checking a book in was like.
After reading We Are in a Book to herself, Kathy had me read it aloud. It’s hilarious! What a hoot this would be to read to children. I cannot recommend it highly enough. We both laughed and laughed and laughed.
Then it was time to take our books over to the lake, where we spent an hour and a half or so reading and watching boats at near the boat launch on Leib’s Island.
Finally, with the sun getting a bit intense, we decided to see if we could find someplace for refreshments and bite to eat—looking especially for a place with a patio or deck on the water. We ended up at the Copper Penny Tavern on a channel just east of Thornville, where we spent the rest of the afternoon enjoying watching people and boats and eventually having a late lunch/early dinner.
We did a bit more exploring around the lake, but eventually it was time to head for home. But no visit to Buckeye Lake could end with out getting some ice cream, which we found at Weldon’s Ice Cream Factory in an old hotel building back in Millersport.
What a fantastic day we had at Buckeye Lake! And I truly loved visiting this library in a vending machine in Millersport!
