Downtown Newark Library - Licking County Library

Last week Tuesday (2/18) I had a late afternoon church meeting scheduled at Second Presbyterian Church in Newark, and I decided it would be a great opportunity to take in a new library as well as a new diner. The Licking County Library system is not part of the Central Library Consortium, but the main Downtown Newark Library is only a few blocks from the Second Presbyterian. Then to make things even better, I discovered that Daisy’s  Diner on the corner of Church and 3rd streets was between the two and just a block up from the church. I got a wonderful late breakfast of pancakes, bacon, and really good home fries. (The top two photos below show Second Presbyterian Church on the left and Daisy’s Diner in the corner of the old YMCA building on the right.)

The Downtown Newark Library is located on W. Main St. just two blocks west of the historic Licking County Courthouse. A relatively new library, it was dedicated in 2000 as the Newark Public Library and became a County District Library in 2008 with the forming of the Licking County Library system. (The Licking County Library system has six branches, two 24-hour library kiosks, and a Bookmobile. The Downtown Newark Library is the largest of the branches.) My approach to this library was through a wonderful sculptured arch of books with a child on top reading a book.

I entered the library on the ground floor and headed for the circulation desk to the right, where I introduced myself to two of the librarians and explained about visiting libraries. They put in a call to have the library's director of Community Relations, Laura Appleman, come and take me on a tour of the library. While waiting, i took note of some of the musical instruments behind the desk that could be borrowed from the library. (I'm not sure if I've ever heard of a concert ukulele before.)

Ms. Appleman took me to the elevator and we proceeded to the upper level of the library, where we stepped out into a large, well-lit, open space with a windowed cupola above the center of the room.

A “cascade of stained glass books” hangs in the cupola, and a two-sided gas fireplace is centered under it. The fireplace was not lit, but we were having an exceptionally warm February day. The materials displayed on top of the fire-place were all related to Black History Month.

The computer stations for adults are located in a room just off this center space in the northwest corner of the building. Just to the left of the the computer is a room for the Licking County Genealogical Society.

On the wall nearby there is a display of the oldest map of Newark—from 1853. It was given to the library in 2006 and recently underwent extensive conservation work.

At the north end of the large room (toward W. Main St.), there are racks for magazines and other periodicals. Beyond these racks there is a very nice Quiet Reading Room and two small Study Rooms. Near Study Room 2 is an area devoted to the Licking County Law Library.

All along the east side of the large main room are the books shelves for Adult Nonfiction. There is a break near the middle of the stacks for a row of study tables. The left image is looking east toward the windows, and the right images is looking from the windows back toward the main room.)

Here are just a few of the art works on display that Ms. Appleman pointed out during the tour.

We returned by elevator to the main first floor, and Ms. Appleman noted that we would not be able to tour the Lower Level, as it was undergoing renovation work that was expected to take several months in all. So I was not able to see the library’s Teen Zone, Childrens’s Section, and Story Time Room.

The adult fiction shelves are all along the eastern side of the main room here on the ground floor. The new books area is at the north end towards W. Main St. The bookshelves extend back the length of the room. At one point I spotted what I thought might be an historical card catalog, but it turned out it was a catalog of envelopes of seeds arranged in drawers alphabetically.

Ms. Appleman pointed out displays for two of the library’s special programs. In one the library is developing an online veterans memorial. The library’s “In the Company of Heroes” project is gathering stories, records, photos, audio recordings, etc., from Licking County veterans. In the other special program, “Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, Licking County parent can enroll a child who will then receive an age appropriate free book by mail each month until their fifth birthday.

At the far south end of the main first-floor room is a separate room for movies as well as music and audiobook recordings.

Since I wasn’t intending to check out any books, I didn’t take any time to browse in the stacks. But had brought a book with me to read (Stephen King’s The Institute), and since I had more than two hours until my church meeting, I went back upstairs to a chair near the center fireplace to read.

I will say that I had a much more enjoyable time at the diner and the library than I did at what turned out to be more than four hours of church meeting. I thank the Downtown Newark Library and especially Laura Appleman for the wonderful welcome to the library. I’ll need to get back sometime when I can see the Lower Level—and Daisy’s Diner is well worth a return visit as well.