I’ve always been extraordinarily attracted to public libraries, so it’s hardly surprising that the Duchess and I each carry a card issued by the Chapel Hill Public Library. What is surprising is the Library itself. While it lacks the grand frescoes of the sort found at the Piccolomini Library and can’t match the extensive contents of the university and national libraries, it’s quite a step up from my first public library, located in the basement of the Newton County Health Department building in Neosho, Missouri. (Neosho, a town of 10,000 and the county seat of Newton County, is 10 miles distant from my home town, Diamond, which was far too small to support its own library.)
The Chapel Hill Public Library is a well-stocked, modern library with an especially large children’s and electronic books sections. And, if the staffer that helped us is any indication, the personnel are aggressively helpful. It’s a popular place. In fact, “the Library today is the busiest public library per capita in North Carolina serving approximately 375,000 people annually with an average of 1,085 visitors per day.”1
The most impressive aspect, however, is the local geography.
The Chapel Hill Public Library is located within Pritchard Park, a 32-acre public park with nature and walking trails. Pritchard Park is a hilly and heavily wooded tract of land located in the center of Chapel Hill, northeast of Estes Drive off Franklin Street. 2
Is that way cool or what?
Credit Due Department: All photos other than aerial view are by Bbfd – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikipedia Commons. The aerial view is from Google Maps.
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- Source: Chapel Hill website [↩]
- Source: Ibid [↩]