Elkridge Public Library

Howard County Public Library opened a new branch a few months back.  I finally got an opportunity to stop by and visit this wonderful new branch.  This new building is located on the same property that housed the previous Elkridge Branch, but it has been beautifully updated!

Howard County has always done a marvelous job of keeping their branches updated and current with the most modern resources and technology.  This branch has something new and exciting - a tool library.  You can check out tools, take them home and use them for the full checkout period and then return them.  Talk about a huge money saving device that benefits the community!

The Elkridge Library is located just off of Route 1 in Elkridge.

As always, I post pictures without people's faces.  As always, I struggle to get enough pictures without people's faces.  For the middle of a weekday afternoon, this place was absolutely packed.   I took as many pictures as I could to get a good idea of what the branch looks like, and I posted what reflects the branch without posting pictures of people's faces.  

Front Entry

The site plan for the library.  I like the dedicated wetlands and green space.

This is the tool library.  I really like that it's separate from the rest of the building.

Library entrance. It's got a very sleek, modern feel to it.

I'm a big fan of the bubble wall along the side!

Look at all of those gorgeous books!

A view of the children's desk.

A view down the side of the children's section towards the teen section.

Study tables.

The cafe area at the very front - away from the stacks!

Howard County Public Library Elkridge Branch Website: https://hclibrary.org/locations/elkridge-branch/

Savage Library

I was down in Howard County recently and decided to stop by the library.  I went to a branch that was renovated about 3 years ago.  When the kids were little, I used to bring them over to this branch for story time.  (What fond memories i have of this place!). At that time, the building was split between the Senior Center and the library. The library now has sole possession of the entire building. Every square inch if this additional space is utilized to excellent advantage!

Coming up to the entrance, the building looks much as it did when my kids were little.  

But then you walk inside and WOW!  The building has been lightened and brightened.  Paint and carpeting has been lightened and updated.  There are more seating areas and a LOT more computers!

This area used to be dark & foreboding. It was filled with tall overstuffed bookshelves.  The wall that divided the two buildings was right in the middle.  

Laptop bar bridges the area between the adult and teen sections. 

Teen area, above & below.  I love how big the space is!

The cafe area (below) has plenty of seating and snack machines. It is the one place in the library where you are welcome to sit and eat. 

Computer area in the middle of the old, adult section of the library. 

More study space back behind the computer area. 

A view across the library up to the circulation and reference desks. Back in the day, circulation was in that space on the left where the computers are now, and reference was buried off to the right where the adult computers are. 

Right about where the person is standing - that's about where the old Reference Desk was located. 

Beautiful combined Reference and Circulation desk! I live how curvy it is - and I adore how much space they have to work with!

East Columbia Library

Years and years ago, this was our library.  I remember when this library opened its doors!  I don't think we even had 3 children at the time!  We were there on opening day, and for the years that we lived in Columbia, this was our library of choice.  It was a long walk away from home.  It took us about an hour to walk over there - around a lake, under a road, past a grocery store, and around some playing fields.  We'd make an event of these trips!  I'd load the books up into the stroller and off we'd go.  We got there in time for story time, and then we'd pick out books, roam around for a little while, and then head back home.  We'd stop at the grocery store and pick up something for lunch - usually hummus and carrots or something like that.  We'd journey under the road and stop by the playground next to the lake, where we'd eat our lunch and play on the playground.  We'd then wend our way around the lake towards home, where three exhausted kids would fall into into a very exhausted afternoon nap almost as soon as we walked in the door.  Oh!  The memories!  Those were wonderful, wonderful days!  I didn't realize how much I missed them until I was roaming around here today.  The kids are all grown up now, but those were bright, wonderful days full of innocence and joy!

I was back in Columbia this week, and I took advantage of the opportunity to stop by the library and reminisce.  Some things have changed, and some have stayed very much the same.  

Are you ready to look at the library?

This is the view coming up from the soccer fields.  The community pool is to the right, and there's an elementary and middle school located just beyond the pool.  This side faces the parking lot.

A better view of the front doors.  The Senior Center is located in this building, too, just to the left as you enter the doors.

The adult reference desk is located just inside of the front doors.  (I can't imagine how cold this is in the middle of January!)

The Learning Commons.  This has changed since we lived here.   I love the new set up with the tables and the lamps!  It's much more intimate and feels warmer than the long rows of tables with the computers lined up.

Fun Fact: When the internet first became a "thing" back in the late 90's, I was a stay at home mother with three young kids.  I knew I was going to need to know how to navigate the internet in order to reenter the work force down the line.  Guess where I took classes to learn how to surf the web, navigate the computers, work Windows 95, and learned about Linux based operating systems?  This library, right here.  They had the long rows of tables then, and there were 4 or 5 of us in most of those classes, with one librarian helping us learn to navigate the intricacies of the web.  Thanks so much Howard County Library!

I still love this long view down through the Young Adult books!  That's a quiet study room at the end of the view.  It's got doors, tables and chairs, and outlets.  It's a pretty nice space!

That's the adult fiction section straight ahead.  I would make a beeline here with the stroller to pick one book for myself before heading over to the children's section.  Can you see that glass wall to the left, just behind the pillar and the arm chair?  That's another quiet study area.  Sorry I couldn't get a picture of that, but there was somebody working in there. 

This globe.  I can't tell you how glad I am this is still here!  We spent a lot of happy time here, looking at our world and investigating countries.  We'd find a country we wanted to know more about, and then we'd go search through the non-fiction books, find a few books about that country and check them out!

Along the back wall.  This is the individual/quiet study area.  Just behind me is the group study area.  Believe me, there were a lot of groups working back there!  Every single table was taken by at least two people, and there was a LOT of collaboration happening everywhere I looked!

Still my favorite walk!  From the central portion of the library, down the hall to the Children's Section!

The computers in the children's section.

Group study tables.

THESE!  My kids loved to curl up in these and read a book!

This was the original story room.  I remember going in here with the kids!  By the time my kids were out of preschool, the library was handing out tickets to get into story time in this space.  Not too long after, they moved the story times into the group meeting room.  When I walked past, it was packed!

The baby play area.  Lots of toys for little friends live back in this corner!

If you'd like to find out more about the East Columbia Library, you can visit their website here:
(And  you can see the awesome picture of the exterior of the building along the street.  Gorgeous picture, taken by a professional photographer!)

EAST COLUMBIA LIBRARY

The Enchanted Garden at Miller Library

I highlighted the inside of the Miller Library a couple of weeks ago.  There is another part of the Miller Library that is worthy of mention - The Enchanted Garden.  This garden is filled with plants that are native to the area, a garden, and is maintained by the Howard County Gardeners.  This garden is located off to the side of the library.  This is one of the two libraries that I frequent in Howard County.  Whenever I stop here, I make a point of stopping here, walking around the garden, and sitting for a while somewhere in the garden, spending some time communing with nature.  Come and join me in a quick stroll through the garden.

The entrance to the Enchanted Garden.

The view under the trellis in the garden.  If you hit this place at the right time, those tables and benches are full of people working on their laptops.

Heron water fountain in the middle. 

The arbor tunnel at the back of the garden.

The stream running through the center of the garden.

The view into the vegetable beds.  You can see the driveway and the street, just outside of the fence.

Check out the covers of the children's books in amongst the flowers.

A closer view of the vegetable gardens.

A pollinator box, surrounded by plants that attract pollinators.

The view from the back corner, by the vegetable boxes towards the library and the front gate.