Opening Day(s)!

Opening a branch is both exhilarating and exhausting. Our team came together and got the library in ship shape before the staff party on Friday night. We barely got the lights on though--at the last minute a bank of lights in the Juvenile room went off and only some fancy switch flicking got them back on in time. Our collections look beautiful. The butter colored interior paint makes the place glow warmly. All of our favorite people came and filled the place with laughter and smiles.

The next day was our reopening for the public. The ones that noticed the changes were impressed ;) The most popular item (aside from the computers) was the skylight that had been there since the original building went up in 1910. It was painted over during WWII to protect against flyovers and was only scraped clean during this renovation--there have been several since WWII. There are lights above the glass that give it a soft glow at night. There were lots of people from the neighborhood and a lot of new library cards issued. There was a band that kept people dancing, an improv group and a couple of local authors that spoke. Folks seemed to have a good time and I know we did.

Having today off is a bit of a let down after the wonderful weekend. I will be glad to get back to my teen collection tomorrow and see what has been checked out and what flyers have been taken. The first book gone was Extras by Scott Westerfeld--which I haven't even gotten to ready yet. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer was a close second with James Patterson's recent addition to the Maximum Ride series a close third. The graphic novel section is about 2/3's what it was before opening, and I am sure that will go down even more soon. It is a little like having a blog and checking to see how many visitors you have had. Exciting and a little addictive.