A Library Love Photo Tour with Heather from Based on a True Story

Hi! I'm Heather from Based on a True Story and my library is the Akron-Summit County Public Library. I moved to Akron three years ago and I wasn't happy about it. This library is one of the nice surprises that made the move all better. The main library is located in downtown Akron. I had most recently lived in a small town in rural Ohio and wasn't prepared for what I walked into the first time I visited this library. I didn't realize how large it was because there is no main entrance that you can stand at and get a glimpse of the whole building. There are entrances all over on different levels. I come in through the parking garage.

A view of two of the three floors of the library.
There is a library store and cafe on the bottom floor. The children's library is accessed through this portal. Another thing that stands out is the art.
There are sculptures all over the building. A major hallway serves as a rotating art gallery with projects ranging from schoolkid contests to professional exhibitions.

Things I Love About My Library

• Huge collection - I can find most things on my TBR list and anything I can't I can usually get through interlibrary loan. I request some weird things too.
• Great website and app - I can search the catalog, reserve books, modify and monitor my reserve list, renew books, and every ask for an interlibrary loan right from the website. I can ask for the books to be sent to any of the 17 other branches of the library or six locations in the main library. I get my reserve books sent to a small branch that I pass on my way to and from work.

Not So Great Things About My Library

• Two week checkout periods. That's the shortest of any library I've ever joined.
• Crazy organization. I've gone on rants about them segregating authors by race. I also have very strong feelings about how they break up the nonfiction. It is on 3 floors. It isn't in numerical order. It isn't unusual to go to the first floor and find that the numbers before and after what you need are there but what you are looking for is on another floor. There usually isn't a sign that says where they are. They are just missing. For example, the travel books are in the fiction section. Excuse me, the Pop Culture section. They don't use the word "fiction." Makes me crazy.

 
Thanks for sharing about your library, Heather!

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