Lake City, Northeast, Green Lake, Northgate

I visited four branch libraries in January. Three really shouldn't count since they're my regulars, but I'll include them toward my goal of visiting all 26 branches this year.

Lake City Branch

I live in Lake City, so this is my home branch. (One of the first things I did when I moved to Seattle, less than a week after I arrived, was go to the library to get my card.) This is the place where I frequently pick up holds, and where I'll sometimes just go into browse, maybe before or after two great Lake City events: the Lake City Farmers Market, just outside the library on Thursday afternoons June through September, and the Very Vintage Market held the fourth Saturday of each month in the Lake City Community Center next door.

Lake City remains a relatively affordable part of Seattle, so ours is a diverse neighborhood filled with all kinds of people, from recently arrived refugees to professionals who appreciate the easy transit access to downtown and the U District to a high concentration of homeless folks. Events at the branch include story times in Spanish and Somali, ESL conversation groups, and social service sessions for low-income, Chinese-speaking senior citizens. The Lake City Branch is an exemplar of the idea that libraries serve everyone, no matter where you may be on the economic ladder, no matter what your citizenship status ... no matter what.

Northeast Branch

This is one of my two regular stops. I attend a program two Wednesday nights each month at the nearby University Unitarian Church, which sits diagonally across 35th Avenue in Wedgwood. So more often than not, I go to the library for a half-hour or so beforehand to reflect on the readings for that night's discussion.

Fused glass by Steven Fuller at the Northeast Branch

When I think of the Northeast Branch, I think of kids. The children's area is to the right just as soon as you walk through the foyer. Off to the left, there's a community meeting room. A chess club meets there every Thursday night, and there are a bevy of story times and book clubs for all ages.

But here's my favorite memory: One evening I left the library at the same time as a young girl. Her head was down, looking not at a smartphone, but at an open book she obviously couldn't wait to start reading. I smiled at her and the man who'd brought her, remembering how my own parents took me to libraries as a kid: the one in the Pittsburgh suburb where I grew up, yes, but also the grand Carnegie Library downtown.

A library card may be the best gift you can ever give a kid. And like everything else there, it's free.

Green Lake Branch

Speaking of Carnegie libraries, my new branch for January was the one at Green Lake, which is one of eight libraries funded by Andrew Carnegie in Seattle, six of which still operate as Seattle Public Library branches. This is the oldest of the libraries I’ve visited: Carnegie gave $35,000 for its construction, and it opened in July 1910.

As the library website says, “The T-shaped building followed one of Carnegie's preferred designs for libraries - main-floor reading areas and a lower- level auditorium. Wings on either side of the front of the building feature two sets of huge operable vertical windows that allow natural light and fresh air to pour into the building.” I love the fish-scale motif windows and decorative book elements above the door, too.

Northgate Branch

Finally, for now, the Northgate Branch. I've been here a few times, usually for quick peeks at the new books on offer, since I sometimes have about 10 minutes while waiting for a bus transfer just outside. But the element that most catches my eye about the branch is the row of rocking chairs that face south. If the sun is shining, or even if it isn't, this may be one of the best places to curl up with a book in all of Seattle.

The rocking chairs at Northgate Branch. Sometime this year, I'll get back to sit and read in one of these.