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PM_me_ur_beetles t1_ircoite wrote

My hobby is visiting every library in the state and the cute tiny ones are always my favorites!

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yeehawkalian t1_ird26f1 wrote

I’m trying to up my library game. What are some cool ones you would recommend?

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zebrawithflowers t1_irdv4ju wrote

Tiverton's library is really something, and so is the renovated Providence Public Library.

Other libraries I like in Providence I like specifically for their older charm: the Athenaeum, and Knight Memorial.

There are lots of other great ones around the state, I just haven't been in then. Happy exploring!

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[deleted] t1_irem71w wrote

North Kingstown library is the opposite of charm but a really interesting example of 70's modern architecture where the natural environment was tapped to steal the show. Make sure you go downstairs and walk the grounds for a true appreciation.

If you ever find yourself in Camden Maine do not miss that one.

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PM_me_ur_beetles t1_irgrldv wrote

I used to live in a carriage house in Wickford village until last year! I spent a lot of time there, but I did not like the North Kingstown library because it was so LOUD. Wide open, high-celling, multi-floor open plans are terrible choices for library design. However, it almost always had the books I was looking for, the staff was excellent, and you can't beat the view of Academy Cove! I did like walking around the outside and sitting at the tables in the little sunken garden.

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PM_me_ur_beetles t1_ire8dxn wrote

I'm biased and love the East Greenwich Public Library for it's gothic revival architecture and the shady bench outside by the garden BUT

the little cute ones I've loved the most (aside from Willett) are Foster, Brownell, Union, Rochambeau, and Greene! I have a spreadsheet of every library in the OSL system, which has made it easy to track which ones I'll be near and which ones I've liked.

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Jack__Squat t1_irel84h wrote

That's a cool idea. What do you do when you visit one? Do you just look around and leave?

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PM_me_ur_beetles t1_irgr5ms wrote

I check out a book (started as Nabokov, but I ran out of him after about the 12th library) and walk around to look at the amenities and then sit and read for a while. Some have coffee machines and I'll get a coffee. I like talking to the librarians. Several of them are excited to see my uniform and we chat about scheduling educational programs.

I work across the whole state (or at least the forested parts), so I usually schedule my lunch break around a library I'll be near and spend my break there. It's nice to use the bathroom indoors and have a read for a little while before heading back out!

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SharpCookie232 t1_ircmv3w wrote

This wonderful library has a connection to both Edith Wharton and Teddy Roosevelt. It's a real gem!

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Professional-Gain-62 t1_ircu7cu wrote

What is the Roosevelt connection?

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SharpCookie232 t1_ird78sg wrote

Teddy Roosevelt was good friends with Florence Bayard Lockwood LaFarge and her husband, the noted architect Christopher Grand LaFarge. She was the daughter of Benoni Lockwood IV and Florence Bayard.

She and Roosevelt shared a decades-long correspondence, inspired by their shared reading interests. He also visited the LaFarges in Rhode Island.

from the library's website:

"While she may have entertained the President, she also was wrapped up in the life of the village and was constantly working to help those around her. She was a true environmentalist and her garden was of tremendous importance to her. Boxwood hedges, holly trees, yews, and a brick walk are still in evidence today. An indication of her interest in the year-round community was her strong support of the library. In her comments on finding people and funds to help the organization one gets a sense of ‘the power behind the throne.’ Other evidence is in her espousal of a Boy Scout troop for the youth of the village and her serving on a group to handle the beach which the Misses Carpenter had given for the use of the residents."

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BitterStatus9 t1_ircro2q wrote

I also like the Union Public Library in Tiverton!

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burton8493 t1_irczby0 wrote

Sorry was thinking of the other old library across from the town hall, I know which one you are talking about near 4 corners sorry

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BitterStatus9 t1_irf3hzq wrote

Yes, still a library - just north of the cheese shop, above Four Corners.

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[deleted] t1_irczcs4 wrote

The libraries in Foster are also very cute!

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MakeTomorrowBetter t1_ire6wwa wrote

I’ve always loved the Hale Library in SK across RT 1 from Matunuck Beach Rd

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lisa_williams_wgbh t1_irepv9i wrote

💀 I have expired of cuteness. Please bury me next to my "to be read" pile

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Bullpenny t1_irk2ehr wrote

Adams Library in Central Falls is really cute and has some very old books

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[deleted] t1_irel0zq wrote

You will notice how "cute" this library remained after putting in hundreds of thousands of dollars of renovations. How did they do that? They met accessibility standards by forcing disabled people to enter around the back. Adorable /s

They also limited parking so it is prohibitive for people outside the extremely wealthy neighborhood to access it.

I recommend the cross mills public library for charm minus the elitism.

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[deleted] t1_iresrq2 wrote

[deleted]

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[deleted] t1_irexvzr wrote

Your experience may vary. Where are you parking? On the road?

All I'm saying is they put an enormous amount of money into this project and protecting the image of the "village" was of much greater concern than the accessibility. Believe me, there are plenty of people in that neighborhood that hate the idea of this library being open to the "public".

I don't mean to bring drama to the library topic and I love all the libraries we have at our disposal but this particular one really rubs me the wrong way. Probably because I know what went into the sausage.

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HotConcrete OP t1_irezy63 wrote

There are 4 parking spots in front of the library. Before the renovation, there were no parking spots. I’ve never been there when all 4 are full, but I’ve seen cars parked along the road for other reasons, so I’m sure that’s fine. Maybe they could have had the ramp in the front, but it hasn’t really been an issue for me. Everyone is super welcoming every time I’ve gone.

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[deleted] t1_irf21n1 wrote

The only reason there are any parking spaces or a ramp is because they were forced to put them in to comply for funding. If they didn't have to, they wouldn't have.

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