Mt.  Pleasant Library's children's department receives a makeover

By STEPH TAHTINEN

Mt. Pleasant News

The Mt. Pleasant Public Library?s children?s department received a makeover recently, meant to give the children?s department an identity and presence within the library.

?There was nothing in here that says, ?We are children?s. This is a place where you can hang out and be a kid and just have fun,?? said Janee Jackson, youth services librarian. ?That was my whole goal ? to make this area vibrant, welcoming for parents, welcoming for kids. I think we?ve accomplished that.?

Library Director Gayle Trede commented that she is thrilled with the changes.

?I think it?s marvelous. It has made it brighter, more welcoming, much more comfortable and easier to use,? said Trede.

The changes have been in the works since last fall, but the visible changes have taken place since February, with the walls being painted bright orange, green and blue and new shelving being installed.

?I love the colors, it?s so bright and cheery,? said Jackson. ?I?ve received a lot of compliments from parents and from some of the younger kids that they really like the colors and they really like the book bins.?

The book bins Jackson is referring to are the 27 new bins that house the department?s picture book collection. Jackson compared the bins to walking into a record store, as it is the same premise as flipping through the albums and looking at the covers.

?The cool thing about these bins is they?re at the child?s level,? said Jackson. ?The younger kids and the preschoolers love them. Ever since we?ve gotten them in, I just see kids running up to them and just flipping through and flipping through and flipping through and picking out the books they want. It?s an awesome feeling to see that.?

Another positive of the bins and the changes is that the space is much more open.

?It?s nice, because with the taller shelves that were originally here, I couldn?t see anything. I couldn?t see what the children were doing in the back, making sure they were safe. I couldn?t see anything back there,? said Jackson. ?So having these shelves lowered, there?s a lot more space, I can see what they?re doing and make sure everybody?s safe.?

Jackson hopes that the bins will increase circulation.

?That was the whole point of getting the bins,? said Jackson, who consulted other libraries that have bins. ?Burlington, they said once they received their book bins, circulation has increased by 40 percent and it continues to increase.?

Jackson said she has already seen parents come in and leave with ?bundles and bundles of books.?

Trede said that as it has only been a month, she has not run any circulation numbers to compare.

?I?m going to wait to let it go around a little bit,? said Trede, who noted that she would probably wait until the end of the fiscal year to see if the circulation was higher, but she commented, ?I imagine it will be.?

Another feature in the department is the new puppet theater that was donated by the Jackson Juniors 4-H Club earlier this month, which Jackson described as the ?hot spot? of the department.

?Ever since it came here a few weeks ago, I?ve had kids non-stop coming up here, grabbing the puppets and just creating their own little worlds. It?s awesome,? said Jackson.

In addition to the previously-mentioned changes, the book sections have been moved around and re-organized, including moving the Spanish book section from the back towards the front and the addition of a new holiday section, rather than having them intermingled with non-holiday books.