They were having a tough time in Bloomer, coming up with a way to make the children's area roomier and more functional. Kathleen Larson, the youth services librarian there drew on past experience to come up with a plan that seems to be working well for them:
"My idea for the loft came from
my experience in the early childhood field. When we were looking to expand, but
couldn’t due to building constraints, a few centers that I worked at added
lofts. They are a great way to add “floor” space without a multi-million dollar
price tag. I found the loft online, and I liked the plexiglass stairs so I could see
children through the rails. It looked nice, and it was reasonably priced, our
Bleskacek Fund paid for it!"
"A few things I was worried
about? I was worried about kids throwing things over the rails, and little
children falling down the stairs. The library board was, and still is, worried
about children who will climb over the rails and jump to the floor. Over all
the loft is going great! The kids REALLY love it and I’ve had a few parents
stop and tell me they like it. We’ve had a few incidents of children throwing
things over the edge (beanbags, puppets, and some soft blocks), but I had
purposefully put softer toys up on the loft that wouldn’t hurt if they got
thrown. And of course we do strongly discourage throwing items that are not
balls at the library! We have toddlers through middle school students using it;
a 13 year old pulled a bean bag up to read on it the other night. I love it,
the kids love it and our limited kids space is so much less cluttered!"
