My library visits over the past 14 months have brought surprises, introduced me to a great many new restaurants, and taken me to places in and around Columbus I hadn’t been to in the 19 years I’ve lived here. For instance, I didn’t know the library branch nearest to my home even existed until I visited the Lane Road Branch of the Upper Arlington Public Library last January.
Yesterday’s visit (1/14/2020) was more of the same—my first visit to the downtown part of New Albany and lunch at a new restaurant—the just opened Fox in the Snow bakery & coffee shop. It wasn’t the easiest place to find, since it doesn’t have a conventional sign out front—only a depiction of a jumping fox over the door as the photo below shows. The menu is pretty much limited to pastries and coffee drinks, but there is a Soufléd Egg Sandwich and (after 10:30 am) a Ham & Cheese Baguette, which is what I had and thoroughly enjoyed. I should probably note that I went back later for a Pecan Sticky Bun (yummy) while I sat there and read for a while after lunch.
The library is part of Market Square in New Albany with Rose Run Park behind it to the north. A remodel is planned to add a second entrance to the rear of the library to link to the park as well as the New Albany High School campus on the far side of the park. This library branch was established in 1998 at the High School, and the current building was opened in 2003. In 2007, the building was named in honor of Charlotte P. Kessler. There’s a dedication plaque just to the left of the library entrance.
The view from just inside the entrance down the bright, high-ceilinged atrium space all the way to the rear wall is especially striking. A Mother Earth Glove sculpture hangs in this space.
To the right just past the Circulation Desk there are shelves for Holds/Reserves. The Homework Help and Teen Area are farther down on the right. To the left is the Children’s Area along with the book stacks for Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction.
I headed for the Children’s Area, but first I stopped to check out the glass-enclosed Family Room where parents and children can spend time reading together.
The Children’s Area includes a large collection of children’s books around an open space with a sky light and a large decorative hanging. There are study tables and several child-friendly computer stations here as well.
I located a Mo Willems book I hadn’t read as yet, Are You Ready to Play Outside? While not as laugh-out-loud funny as some of Willems’ other books, I enjoyed finding a page that was emblazoned three times with my nickname.
The shelves for books and other media—first juvenile fiction, then adult fiction and non-fiction, and then recorded media—extend toward the back of the library. About half-way back, there is a gap with several study tables.
At the rear of this section of the library, there are racks for periodicals with several comfortable reading chairs, as well as an enclosed Quiet Study Room and a small Conference Room.
From the Periodicals area, I headed across the atrium space with it’s many computer stations for library patrons to get to the Teen Area with its age-appropriate collection of fiction, non-fiction, and graphic novels as well as computer stations exclusively for teen use.
Toward the front of the library from the Teen Area is a large Homework Help area with study tables, computers, and the customary display of pennants from various universities.
Finished exploring the library as a whole, I headed back across the atrium to browse the fiction shelves in search of books on my Amazon Wish List. I keep expecting my searches to get harder as the months go by, but this week I quickly found five books on my list—two from the juvenile fiction shelves and three from adult fiction.
During my exploration of the library I’d spotted several likely places to sit and read. But I really like large wingback chairs, so I knew I’d found my spot when I saw several such along the far wall of the atrium with good light from the north-facing windows and a nice view back into the atrium.
After about an hour I’d finished one of the books I borrowed last week in Amanda (Stephen King’s Revival), so I decided it was a good time check out my books and head for home. A new library in a new place, a new restaurant, and several new books to read—what could be better on a January afternoon?
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