Dorothy Alling Memorial Library in Williston, Vermont

Although the Town of Williston established a public library as early as 1905, the library didn't find a permanent home until 1958. In that year, the widower of Dorothy Alling  had a library building constructed to honor his late wife's long-time support of the library.
The brick colonial revival building, appropriately christened the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library, offered 1500 square feet of library space and served the town until the 1980's when the growth of Williston made it clear that more space would be needed.  The first addition to the original building was completed in 1986 followed by a second addition in 1998, bringing the library to 9500 square feet.  For more information on the Dorothy Alling Memorial Library be sure to go to its excellent  website at http://www.williston.lib.vt.us/

The main desk faces you directly as you come through the doors.  There's ample work space behind the desk, flowing directly into the staff offices.

 Just across from the main desk I noted an original take on the question of whether or not people should be permitted to eat in the library.  Here, library customers are invited to enjoy their lunch or coffee at little cafe tables set up near the front door. 

Let's take a quick peek behind the desk to see their DVD system.  For security reasons the staff decided to keep the actual DVDs behind the desk, leaving only the cases on display.  The DVDs are stored in numbered envelopes which match the numbers on the cases.  As in a video store (remember those?) the patron simply brings the case to the desk and the staff quickly retrieves the item and inserts it into the case.  In fact, it's better than a video store since you're able to keep the original case when you check out the item.  This system is simple, cost effective and space-saving.

The spacious office area is well-planned, and accommodates the library's entire staff. Although the offices are located in the central interior of the building, there are many windows which face directly into almost every public area of the library.   Kitchen facilities,  seen in the photo at left, are tucked in on one wall out of public view.

To the right of the main desk is the library's adult collection, housed in a large, bright room.  This room combines functionality with comfort, and features inviting nooks for reading or study.

  In the photo below we are looking out from the adult section, back toward the main desk.  Here's an idea I haven't seen anywhere else as yet:  see-through display cases which are built into the wall, giving a sight line from one area to the other. It's pretty nifty, and we'll see it repeated as we move to the children's area.

 

In this view we are looking down the corridor connecting the main desk area and adult collections to the youth collections.   The left hand wall of the corridor is used for art exhibits. Windows in that wall provide natural light into the staff offices thanks to the large exterior windows on the right of the corridor.  They offer a lovely view of the library's garden, seen below in winter.

 Perhaps the centerpiece of the Youth Area is "The Family Room", the connecting link between the picture book room, the meeting room, and the youth collection.  Truly a multi-purpose area, it is popular with teens and with parents waiting for children during story times.  It also serves as an expansion of the meeting room which is facing us in the photo.

For popular programs the doors between the Meeting Room and the Family Room can be folded back, almost doubling the available space.

Here's a closer look at the Meeting Room itself.  The closet to the left of the podium contains a kitchenette.  There is also storage for chairs and for audio-visual equipment.  Spotlights and audio speakers are mounted on the ceiling.

Aside from the picture books themselves, perhaps the highlight of this room is a charming mural by a very talented local artist, featuring views of Lake Champlain and its" Lake Monster", Champ.

The photo on right is taken in the "Family Room", looking toward the youth collection.  Note once again the see-through display case.   In brief, the Youth Area of this library consists of the Family Room, a Picture Book Room for pre-schoolers, and a third room housing materials for older children and young adults.

I'll close this post with a view of the bay window in the Children's Area. The comfy cushions and chairs offer a perfect welcome for young readers.

 Many thanks to dynamic Library Director, Marti Fiske, for taking the time to show me around.  It's inspiring to see how far this busy library has come over the last few decades!