Julia's Library
January 2006

 

Here are some pictures of the library where Julia works. It is relatively new -- we had our Grand Opening in August 2004, and we are proud to have of the highest circulation among all 26 Hennepin County libraries.

A lot of these pictures are of our automated materials handling (AMH) system, affectionately called "Big Momma," "The Beast," or our "Enormous Difficult Steel Delight." Most of the time we like it (or at least I do!), but sometimes it is a real stinker.
 
Relevant links: Hennepin County Library Eden Prairie Branch

 
Here is the library from the front on a cold, wintery day. Can you tell it used to be a grocery store?

This is part of the conveyor of the automated materials handling (AMH) system.

Watch out, it's dangerous!

The books travel one by one (ONE BY ONE, DAMMIT!) as they wait their turn to get checked in and sorted.

These rollers propel each item to its doom ... err, to its ultimate destination.

Here is a shot of the entire lineshaft facing upstream. On either side are the placers which, aptly, place items on book trucks to be shelved.

Here are some of the sorting bins. See how the book gently plops into the bin?

This unprofessional-looking cardboard box was part of an experiment. But I like to call it The Tunnel of Love.

This is a placer in action. The vertical grey paddle is going to push the book onto the shelf to the right. How clever it is!

These are five our our ten book trucks. Each shelf on the truck receives items only of a specific type. For example, one might receive only mysteries, or non-fiction in the 300-399 range, or oversized juvenile fiction.

Occasionally, the AMH gets hungry and tries to eat a book. This is the casualty box where the grisly remains are collected.

We sometimes decorate the AMH with things that make us smile, whether it is a baby kangaroo puppet or this. "Larry" is our friend who comes to make improvements or fix things that break.

This is my desk. I share a double-cube with my co-LTA Steve.

The Service Desk, where you can get a library card or pay your enormous fine.

This is the view right when you walk in the door. As you can imagine, a lot of first-time visitors look up, stunned.

A shot of the very cool barrel vault ceiling. It is even better in person.

This is the express checkout, where we encourage you to check out your own damn books.

Here are a few rows of shelving for new books and several types of adult A/V materials.

This is the Early Literacy Area for very young children. It is clean because the kids haven't arrived yet.

Here is the area for older children of elementary school age. It's clean for the same reason.

These are the spinners containing adult fiction paperbacks. I love that we have so many of them!

Here is the periodical lounge with colorful and comfortable chairs. The fireplace even works sometimes.

On the left is a computer you can use to access the library catalog. On the right are some rows of adult fiction shelving.

A peek inside our staff break room. Are those delicious goodies on the table? Why, yes, they are!

This is the fuel cell wall, describing in some detail how the fuel cell on location provides energy to the building. You can read more about it here.

This is a nice shot down the north-south axis of the building, in which you can see our many, many (82 in all) public computers.

Here is the computer lab, a glass-enclosed area that has computers with more software (like Office) than other computers in the rest of the library.