Catonsville Public Library

A classic Mid-Century Modern library with the design elements classic to this era, the Catonsville Library is a large, open branch in the Baltimore County Library System.  Located on Main Street, this branch is located within easy walking distance of much of the community.

Here's a few pictures I took recently when I stopped to check out the branch after attending a meeting close by:

The front entrance.  That's Main Street on the right.

I love the mural in the children's section!

The children's section is to the right.  Adult to the left.  This is the adult section.

The middle is a large open space!  Around the outside of the square, you have the stacks.

One of the few pictures I could get of the center without people.

And a close up of the windows around the top of the open space.  Lots of natural light!

Let me tell you - I go to visit these libraries, and they are packed with people.  Attempting to get any shots of any building without any faces in them is next to impossible.  This is just a small sampling of what the library looks like.  Trust me, this place was packed with people!

Baltimore County Public Library Website: https://www.bcpl.info/index.html

Sollers Point Library

I stopped by this beautiful library and community center recently.  This gorgeous building housed a full service library, a small museum and a community center with a gymnasium, cafeteria, and several classrooms.  This building had a little bit of everything!  When I drove up and got out of the car, the one overpowering thing that I noticed was the overwhelming smell of water in the air.  Sollers Point is located within a couple of blocks of the Bay.  The shipyards were within sight of the parking lot.  One thing I didn't know about the community is that this area is also known as Turner Station.  Those familiar with the story of Henrietta Lacks will recognize the name of her home. The little museum in the Community Center had a display dedicated to Henrietta Lacks and the medical advances that have been made with the tissue samples that were taken from her before her death.  You know that this beautiful little library is a great asset to the community!

The entrance from the Community Center into the library.

The view from the back corner of the library across.  The entrance is to the left in this picture.

From the same spot as above - the back corner - looking left.  The entrance is behind that wall that is straight ahead.

A better look at the children's area.  Love the big windows and all of the natural light!

Just behind those trees are the shipyards.

I love that there's a baseball diamond and rec fields just outside the library.

The view of the desk from the hallway in the community center.

This last picture is not from the library.  It's from the museum.  It chronicles the journey of the HeLa Cells, and the major medical discoveries that have been made from Henrietta's cells.  There's so much more to see in this little museum.  If you're headed over to the East Side of Baltimore to see the library, make certain that you go when the museum is open so that you can also check out everything that they have to offer.

Hereford Library

Daughter and I are trying to hit up as many of the libraries in Central Maryland as is humanly possible this spring.  I'm going to have to give up the quest at the end of May... but I think I'm going to have enough pictures of libraries to see us well through the summer!

We spent a fun day roaming through the northern part of Baltimore County earlier this month.  We stopped in at the Hereford Library, a beautiful, newly renovated library located in a two story building.

As you enter the door, the quiet study room is on the right.

Looking straight back from the entrance, through the children's section.

DVD's are on the left side of the stairs.

Art from the Maker Space under the stairs.

Group study area!

The view from the back of children's to the front of the library.   Very pretty, isn't it?

Don't you love the little pumpkin headed up the stairs?

Quiet study nook upstairs.

Isn't this a gorgeous Maker Space?  I'd love to get in there and create!

I'm a big fan of the laptop bar!  Nice study tables, and there's lots of seating in the teen section.

View from the back corner of the upstairs to the front.

The second floor has the public use computers and a balcony that runs around the building.

Cockeysville Library

It's been a while since I last posted pictures of a library!  I've visited many, and I've taken pictures of many of them over the last few months, I've just been very slow in getting them posted!  As always, the most difficult part of getting library pictures is getting them without the faces of other people in them!

I ventured north of Baltimore recently to visit the Cockeysville Library.  This library was originally begun in 1947.  This particular branch was opened in 1982 and then renovated and expanded in 2009.  It is a gorgeous branch!   As you enter the library, Elinor (who is dressed for St. Patrick's Day) greets you at the front entrance on the Circulation Desk.

Do you see how many people are here?  This place is packed!

The area around the reference desk. Children's is to the right.

The children's section is my favorite part of this building!  It looks like a greenhouse, added across the front of the library, and running the length of the building.  It is gorgeous, light filled, and airy!

Love that mural at the end of the children's section!

Just look at all that light!  Just off to the left is a huge open play space for the kids.  (Full of kids when I was there, so no pictures.)

 

 

 

Back inside of the main library, these pictures were taken along the wall in the older child section.  Behind the yellow bookshelves is the teen (Young Adult) section of the library.

The Young Adult Section.

Looking along the back wall from the teen section.

Looking down one of the aisles to the Reference Desk.

Inside of the glassed in area is the magazine area and the quiet  study room.

Straight ahead is the door and the circulation desk.

Library Pictures

I'm a librarian.  I am a proud book nerd.  I adore the architecture of libraries.  I also adore the fact that we are fortunate enough to have FREE libraries in this country, that anyone can access.  Thank Benjamin Franklin for that idea.  He believed that an educated, informed populace was crucial to the success of any Democracy.

Up until that time, libraries were largely private, or subscription. The rate of illiteracy among the general populace at that time was horrific, with only the very wealthy able to read, having been taught by private tutors. 

I really do love libraries, and what they do for us, as a society.

I recently found a library I had yet to explore in Baltimore County, in Owings Mills.  It's a gorgeous public library that shares a building with the Community College.

I took a few pictures to share.

A sweet little coffee shop awaits as you enter the building!

Entrance to the library.

Look at those beautiful shelves, and accessible aisles!

Beautiful, diverse collection.

The view out the window from the second floor.  That's a highway, straight back.