Visiting New-to-Us Libraries: Hardesty, Helmerich, Kaiser
I wrote earlier this summer that we’d signed up for the Summer Reading Program at Zarrow Regional Library, which we hadn’t been to before. That was step one in my summer goal of visiting some new-to-us library branches. Now, I can happily report that we’ve visited four new libraries altogether in the past month and a half: Zarrow Regional Library, Hardesty Regional Library, Helmerich Library, and the Herman and Kate Kaiser Library. Since I’ve already shared some Zarrow photos, here are some from the other three!
Hardesty Regional Library
I was especially excited to visit Hardesty because I know they do movies and other big events in their theater, Connor’s Cove. Which just sounded intriguing. I’m not sure I realized (as one of the librarians informed me) that Hardesty is TCCL’s second-largest library after Central. Of course, once I was there, that wasn’t surprising, as the space is huge!
We stuck to the children’s area mostly, but we saw some study rooms upstairs and didn’t even make it up there, so there was definitely more to explore. Connor’s Cove was closed, but we did get to see the awesome pirate mural leading up to it and the colorful boat out front.
The children’s area was jungle-themed, with a separate storytime room painted to look like you were inside a tree! There was a puppet theater, toys to play with, beautiful murals and fun features like clouds suspended from the ceiling and a snake built into the tiles.
Hardesty is located at 8316 E. 93rd St. – basically 93rd and Memorial, tucked back in off the main street. So being midtowners, I’m not sure how often we’ll make it out there, but I’m so glad we did!
Helmerich Library
The Peggy Helmerich Library is located at 5131 E. 91st St. Since it is close to Hardesty and wasn’t out of the way, we went ahead and paid a visit to Helmerich immediately after leaving Hardesty. It’s a much smaller library, but one cool feature was the books for sale! Helmerich hosts a Friends of the Helmerich Library book sale every spring, which we’ve never made it out to. But I was happy to browse the smaller selection they had on-hand while we were there. We even found one Sequoyah book we needed – for a suggested donation of 50 cents!
So pretty!
They also had a puzzle table set up near the sale.
I didn’t get photos because there were people there, but I really liked the computer lounge area. It was slightly sunken compared to the book areas, and just had a nice, cozy feel.
The children’s area had a play space and a good selection of books!
Herman and Kate Kaiser Library
Herman and Kate Kaiser Library adjoins the Buddy LaFortune Community Center in LaFortune Park. So it’s a great location, right across from the tennis center.
Library on the right, community center to the left
We went here a few weeks ago for a science program with Discovery Lab. I was astounded to walk in and see the gorgeous “trees” towering through the library! With little glass insects suspended from them.
If you visit the Kaiser Library, make sure to go outside to see the whimsical sculptures! According to their website, these two storybook sculptures are “On the Road with Mother Goose” by Diane Mason and “Rabbit Tales” by Georgia Gerber. Aren’t they fantastic?
Where to next?
There are 24 Tulsa City-County Library branches total. I’ve been inside 13 of them, and have seen the Owasso Library and the Bixby Library (they were closed when we were in the area). And have driven up to Maxwell Park once to pick something up. So that’s not bad!
A few librarians came to our recent Family Favorites party and said the South Broken Arrow Library has some really interesting features, so they’re definitely on the list. And if I want to step inside the Owasso Library, I’d better hurry because it closes Aug. 2, in preparation for the new Owasso Library that will be built on the property.
Anyway, hopefully we can visit another library or two before school starts back up again. How many library branches have you visited? Where should we head next?
