Castleton Public Library

I took a long drive down a winding, unlined road, questioning Siri’s navigational skills, to find the village of Castleton-on-Hudson. I found the charming red building at the bottom of a steep hill.

The library is part of the village hall. The front door is not accessible, but the back door is. I commented to the director that the back hall could be signposted a little bit better. Working with the town in a shared space is somewhat difficult (as is relying on their help, I can attest to that).

The library is one long room in the building, but recent improvements have made best use of the space.

The director’s desk is at the circulation area. “It’s hard to keep my desk clear,” the director says as she irons a plastic bead project for one of her young patrons. The library was active while I was there, with two families doing crafts, legos and picture books, a tutor with a student, a teen on the computer and a senior shooting the breeze with the library clerk. The director happily gave me a tour, explaining that the next project after the improvements in the main area was to renovate another room in the building to be their combination program room and break area.

This shelf can slide! It looks like a very solid, immovable unit, but she demonstrated that the shelves could be moved aside for an event, or rearranged for a different configuration.