On a gray, rainy late August Monday afternoon, the newly renovated, reopened first floor Children’s Room at the Newton Library is filled with light, and children (from toddlers to “tweens”) and their parents and grandparents listening to stories, reading stories, and playing computer games or with the colorful array of toys in the play area. A large plaster parrot on a swing oversees the space, now twice its original size. As Jill Mercurio, Newton Library Director says, “the Children’s Room is as large or larger than other public libraries in nearby towns.”
Children wander around the bright shelves reaching for picture books and story books, now much more within their grasp, and sit on child-scale chairs at child-size tables. Comfortably large armchairs and wall benches accommodate families enjoying books. All about them are floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Library gardens and Nancy Schön’s Winnie-the-Pooh, Eeyore, and Piglet sculptures. One wall of the room is covered by children’s books in Chinese, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish — really something for everyone. Indeed, the Children’s Room also offers bilingual story time. Ms. Mercurio noted that the Activity Area offers important space for children to socialize and learn through play. This is a great option for families who might not have access to indoor play spaces and playmates, as well as companionship for the adults, particularly in the course of this very hot summer. In fact, the Library has provided relief and refuge on record-setting very hot days.
In 2014, the Library staff began to consider renovating the Children’s Room, which was part of the 1991 building (named for then Mayor Theodore D. Mann), because the Children’s area and story time room was too drastically undersized to meet the demands of our library-loving community. The City of Newton was able to accelerate the renovation thanks to ARPA funding, and construction began in the fall of 2021. Ms. Mercurio explained that the renovation was moved up by a year, challenging the resourcefulness of the staff. During the renovation, a temporary Children’s Room claimed the auditorium, necessitating the removal of 800 storage boxes filled with 60,000 books and materials, all of which has returned to new, spacious shelves. Before the renovation, regularly story hours required tickets because of space limitations in the old Program Room. Ms. Mercurio noted with pride that the new children’s Program Room is so large there is no need for tickets: the space accommodates large crowds easily for story time.
Both the Children’s Room and adjoining Teen Rooms offer a wide range of audio books and videos that help motivate as well entertain younger readers. In fact, a sign in the Library lobby proclaims that the Newton Library Children’s Room is one of the busiest in the Commonwealth. During Covid, borrowing in the Teen Room increased as well. Hailing the opening of the Children’s Room, the Library lobby shows a schematic rendering of the expanded facilities — which incorporate the original Children’s space, the former Large Print, Special Collections, Archive area, and Holds Pick Up area — for an increase of 4,000 square feet.
Originally next to the Administration Offices on the second floor, the Teen Room is now on the first floor, connected to the Children’s Room by an inner corridor, giving teens a relaxed, friendly space to hang out on low comfortable chairs and sparkly pillows, or tables and chairs for serious work, and access to computers in their section of the library. There are also separate study rooms that can be booked for two hours. In the past, the Library has extended its hours and remained open to 11PM during high school final exams to accommodate students.
In addition to the educational options, the Teen Room includes a Nintendo Switch where young people join with friends or with other Nintendo fans; it’s a great socialization tool. Xbox and PlayStation games are popular checkout items, too. On a recent hot summer afternoon, a group of teen boys was at a table playing Dungeons and Dragons, and one of the players noted that “the teen collection is very, very good.” A large sign in the passageway from the first floor Adult Reading Room advises adults: Seating in this area is for tweens and teens ONLY. Adults are directed to seating in the atrium.
With the lifting of Covid restrictions, the coming school year will offer reading and writing groups for teens. Check out the library’s Kids, Tweens and Teens programs and services online, and be sure to plan a visit.
