January 2020 by Thomasin Gadel
PPLD has the advantage of being in a beautiful new building built with the specific needs of the library in mind. The large windows allow natural light to really warm up the stacks, which, which when combined with the beautiful wood shelving and decor, make the building feel very cozy. Comfort for the patrons seems to be a driving factor in the layout and operation of the library—throughout the building, there are countless sitting areas, displays, decorations, isloated nooks, paintings, knickknacks, potted plants, and pieces of Philo history. It's the kind of library where you would feel comfortable kicking off your shoes (thought I imagine the staff would discourage this!) and settling down after a long day.
Something I thought was particularly intriguing is that the library's meeting room has come to regularly host morning coffee for local seniors. According to director Don Pippin, he's been able to learn a lot about the Philo community and its history from participating in their casual chats. I think this is a lovely thing for a library to host, by bringing the community together in a little way.
While I'll restrain myself from enumerating every single thoughtful little thing I love about this library, what you should take away from this is that PPLD is very well taken care of, and the Philo community is incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful place to call their own.
Also, there's a lizard.
