Marysville Public Library - Main Library

[A note to those of you who get my new blog posts via email:  

Now Blogger is saying that this feature will stop in August of 2021, and I can't find a workable replacement.  You can still follow my posts by going directly to the website for this blog:  skipexplores.blogspot.com  I intend to continue making and reporting on library visits, although probably not weekly as I did for the first year and a half.] 

With just three libraries remaining to reach my original goal of visiting all the library branches within the bounds of the Central Ohio Library Consortium, I decided yesterday (7/14) to travel to the farthest one—the Marysville Public Library’s main library in the historic downtown area of Marysville.  (I’d previously visited the small branch library in Raymond in October, 2019.)

The library is on S. Plum St. on the south edge of Partners Park where there is also a gazebo in the NE corner and a large covered pavilion with picnic tables—the Memorial Health Pavilion.  This library was built in 1988 as a replacement for the Carnegie Library Building on S. Court St., which was built in 1910.  I parked in the lot across the street to the east and headed to the S. Plum St. entrance.  There is also a parking lot to the west of the building that serves the Memorial Health Pavilion as well.

Just inside the entrance there is a lobby that extends through the building to the west entrance.  To the left is the Adult Services section of the library, and to the right is the Youth Services section.  New books are on display in the lobby, and there are shelves for Pick-up Holds.

Turning around, it was immediately obvious to me that COVID restrictions were reduced here versus the previous two libraries I’d visited recently, since there was an open snack area with vending machine to one side of the entrance and an arrangement of comfortable chairs to the other.  I learned later that meeting rooms and the children’s activity area remain closed due to COVID.

After introducing myself to one of the librarians and chatting for a while, I headed into the children’s section, and one of the first things I noticed was a corner dedicated to a nice collection of resources for educators.

There is a Reference Desk at the far end of the room. (A large number of children were there checking in for a summer reading program, so I didn’t take any photos.)  Children’s picture books are on book shelves to the left, and general fiction and non-fiction books are to the right along with a number of computer stations for children.

Also to the right is a magnificent dragon hanging from the ceiling and swooping down over the tables.  The collection in this area includes graphic novels as well as a varied selection of board games that can be checked out.

The Children’s area includes a section for graphic novels as well as shelves with a varied selection of board games that can be checked out.  Both the children’s Activity Room and a small play space to the left of the Reference Desk are closed temporarily because of COVID.

My favorite find among the children’s picture books was Mighty Moby, a wonderful retelling of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick with a surprise twist that shows that things are not always what they seem.  The stunning collage art by Caldecott Award winner Ed Young came first, with Barbara DaCosta adding the words later.  Some of the words are suitable to be sung to traditional sea chanteys, like the text pictured, which can be sung to the tune of “Lord Franklin”:  “Wide are the waters of the deep blue sea / Great is the whale that got away free / Sleepy is the sailor who’s tucked in bed / Soft is the pillow beneath the young sailor’s head.”  I also enjoyed re-encountering a book by one of my favorite cartoonists, Jules Feiffer.  Meanwhile is about a boy who notes how comic books use “Meanwhile…” to change scenes and tries to use the word to escape to more exciting adventures when his mom calls him to do chores.

To one side of the west entrance to the library is an elevator and staircase that lead to a lower level with areas for audio visual materials, public computers, administrative offices, meeting rooms (temporarily closed), and rest rooms.  Computer stations are off to the right upon entering the main A/V materials room. 

Although the sign at the bottom of the stairs doesn’t mention it, there’s a large Teen Space off one corner of the A/V materials room.  It offers a nice collection of books, graphic novels, other teen-related materials along with computers specifically for teens and a wall lined with booths for small conversations.

Having explored everything else, it was time to head for the Adult Services section of the library to do some browsing, pick out some books to borrow, and find a comfortable place to sit and read.  Like in the children’s area, there is a tall peaked lighted ceiling down the center of the room.  Magazines and other periodicals are displayed just inside the entrance way, and there is a Reference Section at the far end as well as numerous study tables.  And there is a Genealogy & Local History section in one corner.

But by then I was mostly interested in checking out the New Books displays—ahhh, these chairs by the new books do look comfy—and browsing for a while through the general fiction, mystery, and science fiction shelves with my book want list in hand. 

Added to the DVD of “All the President’s Men” I’d picked up downstairs in the A/V section, my three book finds for the day were all mystery/thrillers that, oddly enough, I did not find in the mystery section but rather in general fiction. They were:  Norwegian writer Jo Nesbo’s 2014 crime novel, The Son;  a newish book in Christopher Fowler’s quirky Peculiar Crimes Unit series of British mysteries, Hall of Mirrors; and book #4 in Michael Connelly’s Lincoln Lawyer series, The Fifth Witness.

I settled in one of the chairs to read for the next half hour, but then by a bit after 1:30 pm I started getting hungry.  So I used the self-checkout for my DVD and three books and then walked a couple of blocks up to W. 5th St. where there is a small diner-style restaurant, McKinley’s Grille (my first visit to a diner since March of 2020!).  Since I’m still not comfortable eating inside due to COVID, I ordered a takeout BLT (w/ extra bacon) & fries.  I had brought drinks from home in a small cooler.

Then I headed back to Partners Park and the Memorial Health Pavilion to eat my lunch.  There were a few other people in the pavilion and some kids at an adjacent splash fountain.  I managed to get a photo one of the fountain one of the few times it wasn’t being used by little kids.  From my picnic table I has a nice view of the park and the outdoor seating area on the north side of the library.  It was such a beautiful 85° day with a nice breeze that I ended up sitting there and reading for more than an hour after I finished my lunch.

All in all it was a fantastic day!