Arlington

 A is for Arlington!

 Robbins  Library

700 Massachusetts Avenue

Arlington, Massachusetts

My first library visit to kick off "Kathy's Library Adventure; A-Z" was amazing!!  Off to Arlington I went with an open mind, curiosity, a notebook, pen and camera.  

This library is going to be difficult to beat!  The outside looks impressive and stately, but it is the interior that knocks your socks off!  The architectural design is Italian renaissance.  The front entrance mimics the Cancellara Palace in Rome.   

I approached the librarians desk, explained  my love of all things books and libraries and  described my quest to discover what made their library special.  I learned that librarians (Arlington's anyway) are a proud bunch who appear to enjoy their jobs.  They pointed out several areas of the building to visit and boasted about the unique services offered.  Although Arlington is a town, NOT a city is the fifth busiest library in the state!

In 1892 Maria Robbins, in memory of her husband Eli, granted the town money to build the library.  The statue in the picture is of Eli and sons.  

As suggested by  a librarian we took the stairs to the second and third floors.  The library was added on to in 1994.  The original exterior remained intact.  As we climbed the stairs we got to observe the old and the new construction side by side.  It was like walking through a time capsule.  As I enjoy a good ghost story I imagined what it would be like to pass a library patron from the 1890's on the stairs.  I bet our outfits would be dramatically different.  

Seriously!?  You can borrow art work for your home!  See a print you like?  Take it right of the wall!  Arlington is the only library (in Massachusetts) that lends out artwork.

The shelf marked, "FICTION SPEED READS" tends to the most popular reads of the year. 

As a long time preschool teacher (and mother) my favorite location in a library is the children's room. The children's portion of the library is large, clean and well stocked. Colleen, the librarian I spoke with went out of her way to explain how the room was organized. They have books that read to the children, bilingual books, books geared to dyslexic readers and a section loaded with parenting books.

In under five minutes Colleen presented me with a dozen of her favorite books for preschoolers.  Yes, another helpful, friendly librarian that was happy to answer questions and talk books.  She told me that the families really enjoy the  evening sing-alongs and family game nights!

On this library adventure I had a side-kick in the form of my husband Carl.  Yes!  He did enjoy it.  We did not take in down town Arlington as it was a cold, rainy day.  Mass. Ave in Arlington does look worth a return trip though.  

The Arlington public library was a wonderful start to my library appreciation, exploration project.

I am not sure where the letter, "B" will bring me.  Any suggestions?  Boston is the obvious choice, but do I want to go big or find an obscure town and library to check out??

Random book recommendation:  

This Tender Land, by William Kent Krueger

Depression era, historical fiction.