I went on a field trip to the Faribault Public Library.
This was my first visit to the Thomas Scott Buckham Memorial Library housed in a historic building in downtown Faribault. It dates from 1929. The first thing I noticed was the stone plaque outside, standing tall, with the Ten Commandments written on it. That was a pleasant surprise.
I was curious to see a Farm Animal Portraits exhibition by Julie Fakler that I read about on Minnesota Prairie Roots. They were delightful to look at.
After I looked at the artwork I took myself on a tour of the library. I really enjoyed the children’s area. It’s a very spacious and colorful with a lot of kids size table and chairs, kid friendly posters, special areas for toddlers, an inviting information desk, and lots and lots of books and dvds, of course. There is a lot of natural light coming in through windows and it’s very inviting. I trust it gets used a lot. There were no children there during the hour I sat there. It must have been nap-time.
There were a couple of artifacts in the library. One was an old bookshelf with glass doors storing old books.
But the best discovery was how they re-purposed an old card catalog cabinet. They are using it as an heirloom seed exchange.
The seeds are in brown envelopes divided by varieties and placed in an old library card catalog cabinet. Apparently, interested gardeners can “borrow” seeds from this cabinet, bring them home to plant in their gardens and then at the end of the season bring more seeds back to the library to restock the cabinet for next year. What a clever idea.
I hope this seed exchange works well. Since this is my first time at the library I do not know how long the program has been in place.
The library has its own organic garden…I will plan to visit again next summer to see it in bloom.
This is a wonderful garden. Sometimes I see produce sitting on the check out counter for the public to take home. Occasionally there is a recipe for how to use it. My Grangirl loves walking around it and we name the plants.
That is a very unusual picture of the children’s area. A bit more tidy than I normally see it. Story time and other age related kid events are offered. With special kids programs presented on Friday’s in the summer upstairs in the Great Hall.
This library is one of the joys of Faribault.
I agree. The library is a gem in Faribault.
I’m glad to know the children’s area is used a lot. It’s a great space.
I will look forward to this summer and maybe sample some produce from the library’s garden.
Thanks for featuring Buckham. I agree that this library is a gem. My kids spent lots of time here and so do I and I’ve even taken my granddaughter here. Both daughters worked as pages here during high school.
I need to view the library through the eyes of someone who has been there for the first time. You’ve done a great job of hitting some of the highlights.
If you could have accessed the second floor Great Hall, you would have seen the Greek murals. Did you notice the other original art scattered throughout the library?
The seed catalog is fairly new (like a year or two) as is the community garden. There are some enthusiastic gardeners on staff.
I did not get up to the second floor…I noticed there was one while sitting in the children’s section but forgot to find my way up when I was ready to leave. When I go in the summer I’ll check it out.
I did notice a few wood carvings hanging on the walls. Lovely.
You’ll have to ask staff for access to the second floor as I believe that door is locked. They don’t want people meandering. The second level is an event space for library (and other) programming.
Thanks for letting me know…