From Brooklyn Centre Wiki
Brooklyn Branch Library pre-1919
The Brooklyn Branch library hasn't always been at the corner of Mapledale Ave. and West 25th St.
Interior Space
- As I remember the library, there were a few steps up to the front doors. Off to one side was a mailbox. In through the double doors and you were in the area where the wrap around the large oak horseshoe shaped checkout and returns desk was. This area had glass walls on three sides. All the woodwork within the library seemed to be done with quarter-sawn dark oak.
- To the left and ahead were doorways to the adult area. The front half had fiction. The middle section had non-fiction. And the back had a cozy magazine section that included some comfortable upholstered chairs and a fireplace (though to my knowledge it was never used!) Science Fiction (my favorite) was just a few shelves on a narrow bookcase.
- To the right was the doorway to the children's books. As a child, I used to enjoy starting just to the left of the doorway and working my way around the room. Starting at that point would open my mind to all sorts of non-fiction wonders such as science, the world, hobbies, etc. Children's fiction was all at the front half of the room.
Returns
- As you entered the library, there was a space on the large desk where you'd drop off your books. See the description below and just reverse the process.
Checking Out
- Children were limited to a maximum of three books that could be borrowed. All materials were due in two weeks.
- To check out a book, the clerk would remove a card from the paper pocket at the back of the book. The card listed the name of the book and the author plus the libary's Dewey Decimial number. Then you presented your library card from which the clerk would obtain your name and write it onto the index card. The index card would then be filed in an upright fashion along with all the others that represented books which had been borrowed. Finally, the clerk would extract a card that had the due date stamped on it from a stack that they had prepared for the day and put it into the book's pocket. Of course, this was in the days that were pre-electronic. There was no such thing as a library card that could be scanned or a list of your borrowed books that could be printed out. Everything was handled manually.