Heart of the Community: The Libraries We Love : Treasured Libraries of the United States and Canada

by Karen Christensen (Editor)

Published in an oversize format (9.25x12.25"), and full of color photos, this volume contains descriptions and histories of 80 libraries mainly in the US and a few in Canada, with two pages devoted to each. Each library's address, details about its founding and building, current specialities and focus, and future plans are included in each profile. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Genres: Nonfiction

182 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Karen was Valerie (Mrs T S) Eliot's assistant in London (Writing Great Tom) before becoming a well-known UK environmental author (The Armchair Environmentalist and Home Ecology). Her passion is the connection between sustainability and community and she is an expert on "third places" and co-author with Ray Oldenburg of The Great Good Place (media and more). She also writes about women (including Valerie Eliot) and is a Harvard Fairbank Center research associate. Her favorite books include George Eliot's Middlemarch and The Mill on the Floss as well as Barry Eisler's thrillers. In nonfiction, her lifelong favorites include A Pattern Language and A Land. Besides that, she's crazy about trains.

Reviews

[Aspasia · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love libraries you need to read this book. It contains some of the most gorgeous libraries in the US and Canada. The LA Public Library is just HUGE! My favorite exterior shot was of the Poland Branch Library in Poland, Ohio. My favorite interior photo is of the Darby Community Public Library in Darby, Montana. It looks like a ski lodge.

[Jacob Blanck · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ❤ in Our Community
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As much as I love libraries, in general, I just enjoy about all aspects of every library I have gone to. Where I live, we have a historic library that stands with some historic interior, though, they have gone through some massive renovations over the years. Unfortunately, our library isn't one of them on the list but with all that extraordinary feeling, if you walk through their reading room, you'll see all that magic right there but it's history!!
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I love this book so much, I personally wish I owned this one. That's one particular book I had borrowed from the local library.
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I, as a patron, have borrowed lots of books, audiovisuals, & magazines over the past couple of years of using our library. That's the way library works!!

Jacob Blanck
Patron at the Rockville Public Library in Vernon, CT
June 2018

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love libraries so this book was really interesting to look through. I loved the love letter to libraries from Henry Winkler and the quotes about libraries that are scattered throughout the book.
The book is a little dated, published in 2007 but the pictures make it look older. That's not a criticism, just an observation.
I was happy to see that my local library is included (yea!), and I liked reading about the other libraries across the country and Canada.
I admit that I really only looked at the pictures and skimmed the descriptions (there are a lot!), but it was a really interesting book.

[StephenPaul ChaseJr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I still love libraries!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

More skimmed than read word for word. More of a coffee table book, or something you'd use as a reference. Not bad, some great photographs as well as some interesting places and histories.