A virtual visit to the Wright Memorial public library
Since Wright brothers were (and still are) quite a big deal here in Dayton, a lot of buildings are named after them, and one of them is the library, conveniently named Wright Memorial public library, which is situated just outside of Dayton, in the suburb called Oakwood.
Here, basically each suburb (which is like a tiny city on its own outside a bigger city) has its own library, and there happens to be another library just a couple minutes away, but it belongs to another suburb, called Kettering, and if you belong to the Oakwood suburb, you cannot really become a member of the Kettering library. Would you like to know why? Feel free to keep reading.
The exterior of Wright public library. From the outside, it looks really small.
The situation with libraries in the United states of America is a bit different than in Europe. Well, I am not sure whether all over Europe is the same, but the European countries I have lived in, worked the following way: you could apply for membership in as many libraries as you wanted (I do not know why someone would be a member of several libraries in the same city, but I know a few people who are), you pay an annual fee (usually not more than 15 Euros), and if you are lucky (a.k.a. you are under 18, a high school or university student or a senior), the membership could even be free.
And what is the deal here in the United states? As you probably know, people here pay high taxes, which go toward maintaining the area, transport and even libraries. That is the reason why you can only be a member of a library in your area - when you pay taxes, you also pay the library membership.
And that is not the most complicated thing at all. What I have noticed at the very beginning of my stay in the United States of America is, that people here love bureaucracy. And since I am only a temporary resident here, I had to provide the following documents to be able to become a member of the library: a valid passport, my ID, proof of address here in the United states, proof of an open bank account at the local bank and the Social security number. Seriously, I almost needed more documents than I did for my visa application!
The good news is that I got my library card right away, and I did not have to wait for it. In my home country, I only got my library card two weeks after I applied for it. And you actually get two library cards – an ordinary one and a tiny one that you can put on your key ring, which is very convenient.
I am just keeping it on my car keys all the time. Yes, I have a car. Everybody drives here, even if you are visiting somebody who lives like a block away. Pretty weird, I agree, but I am not joking. And everybody uses GPS, even in their hometown. And I thought I will be the only one using it, since I am not used to the area yet.
Getting there
Getting to the Wright memorial public library is pretty easy, since it is located on one of the main avenues. In fact, if you drive from Dayton to Oakwood, all you need to do is just keep going straight, and eventually, about ten minutes of driving, the library will be on your left.
On your way there (assuming that you are driving from the city of Dayton), you will first drive up a hill, then you will pass a local swimming pool, a house museum (I yet have to check out what this one is about, but it has a big banner in front of it, so it is a great reference point) and Dorothy lane market, which is such a great place that I will write more about it in the future. And then you are at the library already. As I said, everybody here uses GPS to navigate, so it probably makes no sense to give you more detailed directions.
Wright memorial public library has its own parking space, but most of the parking spots are usually occupied on weekends, so you either have to wait for someone to come back from the library or park somewhere else. The best thing to do if all the parking spots in front of the library are occupied, is just to keep driving and park on the street somewhere. Yes, it is completely legal, as long as there is a sign that says otherwise, or there is a yellow curb.
There is one important thing that I would like to warn you about – on this street, driveway turns are prohibited, and there is also a sign when you enter that street, that says so. In Oakwood, everybody can just turn on a random driveway, except in marked areas, such as the one I am talking about. People probably got mad because everybody was turning around in front of their house. I would probably not be happy as well, if that happened on my driveway.
After you park, you can walk to the library. There are signs everywhere, that point you in right direction (although the direction is quite obvious).
You will not get lost with all those signs!
In front of the library entrance, you will notice two big containers, and each one of them has a label on them. One of them says ‘return library books here’ and one of them says ‘return all other library materials here’.
So when you are returning the things you borrowed, you do not even to go inside the library, which is great in case you are in a hurry to get somewhere and you don’t want to wait in line to return the books. And when you are returning your materials in one of these boxes, you do not even have to check them, you just put them inside.
Don't mistake those containers for trash cans! They look similar, but their purpose is totally different.
And just to clarify the meaning of ‘return library books here’ and ‘return all other library materials here’ – the first one means books (obviously), and the second one means videogames, CDs, DVDs, and anything else that is not a book. But I have seen people put books in both boxes, so I assume it does not matter which one you choose.
Next to the boxes, you will see a table and a few benches, which is a great place to read a book, if you don’t feel like doing so inside. And the good thing is that you can go out there and read books that are for the library use only and you cannot take them home. All you have to do is tell the staff about it so they do not think you want to steal the book.
A peek inside the library
The library is actually bigger than it looks from the outside, so you might be surprised when you enter. Once you enter, you will see the main desk at the right side with the self – checkout machines, and there is always a staff member or two there in case you have any trouble.
On the left side of the entrance is something that I really have to mention, and I call it the funny wall. You have probably noticed that Pokemon got super popular in the last few months because of the Pokemon Go game. You might even be playing it. So, on this wall, there are all the Pokemons with funny names below them. For example, these on the picture below.
Next to the Pokemon part of the funny wall, there is a part, dedicated to the books. It tells you all about best new books that they are getting, and funny book covers, that tell you what the books are about. Beware, there are some spoilers!
Behind the ‘funny wall’, there is my favourite part of this library – the newly arrived thriller and mystery books, and there is a looooot of them. Seriously, the selection is more than great. The libraries in my country do not have such a good selection of the books that I like, mainly because people do not even translate them. Or maybe I am the only one who likes such books (please tell me that I am not!!).
You will notice a few laptops around the library - they cannot be used to browse the internet, but you can use them for library catalog. Translation - if you would like to know if the library has a specific book or movie or game or whatever else, you type it in and the system will tell you whether the library owns the item, number of items, and where in the library you can find them.
If you do not want to search for items by yourself, you can always ask for help at the front dest, but trust me, once you realize how simple the layout of this library is, you will easily be able to do it by yourself. When you enter the desired item into the library catalog, the search results will tell you in which department of the library is the item located, and how to look for it. For example, if you look for a newly arrived book, the location will be in 'New arrivals' and keywords are usually the author's last name.
So many books, so little time to read them all!
My new favorite book.
In the middle of this space, there are ten computers, and you will find more of them in other parts of the library. And remember that I once complained that every single library has slow computers? I realized that Wright Memorial public library is a big exception – they have Apple computers! And they are free to use if you are a member of the library. If you are not a member, you pay a small fee to use computers or print something.
Behind the 'computer room', there are two more spaces with different books. The room on the left has children books and books for young adults. You probably will not wander into that part of the library, but if you do, you will see how cool it looks. There is also a big table with coloring books and pencils for kids.
The space on the right is dedicated to different history books and travel guidebooks. this is also the space in the library, where I spend a lot of time when I plan a trip. Of course, why would I pay for guidebooks when I can borrow them for free!
a smaller part of this room is occupied by some science fiction books and, quite interesting, if you ask me, books about different serial killers and other criminals that are (or were) famous enough to deserve a book. Well, we are in United States, after all. These books vary from police documents to books that actually tell a story about the killer. My favorite one is definitely the Zodiac killer.
At the end of the library (between the children department and travel and history books), there are stairs that lead to the basement.
The best (or should I say the coolest) part of the library is definitely the previously mentioned basement. First of all, because not many libraries have basements, and secondly, the entire basement is dedicated to video games and movies. Besides borrowing them, you can also play them on the big screen! However, the big screen was always occupied when I was there, but I think you should expect that.
The collection of video games is just enormous, and you can take them home for one week only. In my opinion, this is not long enough, especially if the video game is hard and has a lot of levels that you would like to play through, but that is their policy. On the other hand, this can be a good thing. Just imagine waiting for a video game that you really want to play, and someone gets to keep it at home for three weeks (which is the amount of time you can borrow the books for).
Besides the gaming basement, there is another interesting thing about this library – you can borrow e – book readers for free, but for a limited time, of course. This is perfect if you like to read and you are going on vacation, but you do not want to bring a ton of actual books with you. You can download as many books as you want on the Kindle, and your suitcase will not be any heavier.
There is free wi - fi at the library and a 'study room' with desks and chairs, where a lot of students come to study or read or just socialize. You can also borrow laptops for inside the library if you do not have your own or if all the public computers are occupied. Now tell me, doesn't this sound like the coolest library ever?
Another cool feature that the Wright public library recently added to their check out receipts, is that once you check out books and other items, the receipt will tell you how much money you saved by borrowing these items at the library instead of buying them. According to my last check out receipt, I saved almost four thousand dollars in the last year by using the library.
The renovation process and a short conclusion
The front rooms of Wright public library are currently undergoing a big renovation, meaning all the new arrivals have been moved to other rooms, the reading area is not there anymore, and the only available restrooms are downstairs. The library employees have puc some chairs and tables all around the library, so they count as reading areas, they are just much smaller, so not as suitable for big groups of students who want to study together, as the former big reading room.
The renovation is supposed to be completed in April. When the workers are working on the front rooms, the library is not very quiet - you will hear loud drills and banging, but I can only imagine how beautiful the restored rooms will be once they are completed.
Overall, Wright public library is a great place to get some great books, browse the internet, do some research, or just read in peace. And regarding the selection of books and other materials, Wright public library is my favourite library that I have ever had a privillege to be a member of.
