The Remarkable New St. Michaels Library

by Bill Peak

The newly-remodeled and expanded St. Michaels branch of the Talbot County Free Library will officially open to the public this coming Saturday, March 21, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. I’m sure there will be all sorts of festivities to go along with the event—food and drink, maybe a ribbon-cutting, certainly some brief remarks—but trust me, the grand dame of the occasion will be the building itself.

I was taken on a tour of the place not too long ago and I was, to put it mildly, impressed. I’ve always liked the St. Michael library, but no one, I think, would have ever called it overlarge. A bit cramped, to tell the truth. But no more. The place has opened up, and there seem to be windows everywhere.

Remember the barrel vault ceiling in the old building? Well, thankfully, it remains, but now its cathedral-like shape is bordered and illuminated by an equally cathedral-like clerestory. And the resulting light from the clerestory and all the windows is a pleasure to the eye.

So let’s take a look at what all that light is shining upon.

Entering the building from the front and glancing to your left, you look through a glass wall into a large reading room and periodicals section. This glassed-in room has been designated a quiet space—no talking, no cell phone conversations, just a comfortable refuge from the clamor of our world. An elegant fanlight window graces the wall at the front of the quiet room. It looks out upon the library garden.

But if you’d prefer a little sound, if not clamor, in your library adventure, just opposite the reading room is the “Café.” No, the library won’t be selling java, but in this new area you’re invited to bring a cup with you to sip as you read or chat with friends.

Next up, still on the right now, come the adult stacks—Fiction and Non-Fiction. Thanks to all the additional space (the library was 7,880 sq. ft., but it can now claim a rather spacious 11,000 sq. ft.), the new St. Michaels library will house a much larger collection.

Opposite the stacks, appropriately enough, and next to the quiet reading room, are two study rooms (also insulated from the library proper by walls of glass). These study rooms are large enough that they will double as meeting rooms for small groups.

Continuing down the left-hand wall we come next to the teen section, which features an improved and much larger collection of Young Adult books. And as they read these books, the “young adults” can let off excess energy sitting on chairs that swivel and stools that (sort of) bounce.

The teen section sits next to a “maker-space” with machines and technology for hands-on fabrication. Here patrons of all ages will be able to create whatever their hands and minds can conjure, using tools like 3D printers. Staff will provide tutorials on the use of these and assist with projects. Like all library services, the maker-space technology is provided absolutely free of charge.

I’ve often worried that the name commonly used by libraries for the place where books are checked in and checked out—“the Circulation Desk”—might not mean much to non-librarians, so I was pleased to learn the new St. Michaels library will feature instead a “Welcome Desk.” You will find the Welcome Desk on your right after you’ve passed all those Fiction and Non-Fiction shelves. It will combine the services of both the circulation and information desks.

Passing the Welcome Desk on your right, you come upon the public computers and laptops, which occupy the back wall of the main library space. The art gallery—newly named after outgoing branch manager Shauna Beulah—still sits in the corridor running along behind this wall at the rear of the library.

To the left of the computer area and linking the library proper to the new meeting room is the wonderful, colorful children’s section. Here the shelves of children’s books are decorated with jigsaw-cut, wooden puzzle-piece games guaranteed to stir little imaginations. But my favorite part of the children’s section is the reading nook they’ve set up next to a large window. The nook looks a little like a cut-away section of a large dollhouse, complete with roof and a cushioned seat to sit upon. Within, a small child will find their own special place to snuggle up to their favorite picture book.

Walking on through the children’s section you come to the door leading into the new meeting room. This room sits in the same place as the previous meeting room but its size (and seating capacity) has increased by a full quarter.

To conclude, our beloved St. Michaels branch has undergone a metamorphosis and emerged a beautiful new creation: modern, up-to-date, and ready to provide the library services the people of St. Michaels and the Bay Hundred so richly deserve.

Oh, and if you do make it to Saturday’s opening, be sure to say a word or two to Shauna. Saturday is her last day. We all wish her a long and happy retirement.