return of the library pilgrim
A few weeks ago, Stewart and I paid a visit to the Mount Pleasant branch after an afternoon in Leaside munching Montreal bagels and sampling ice-cream from Hollywood Gelato. This library branch is tucked between a row of shops on Mount Pleasant Street (of all streets!). It’s a small venue, rectangle in shape, with cream-colored bricks on the outside. Very tall shelves — both free-standing and attached to the walls — claimed the majority of the space. A wide aisle right in the middle of the rectangle allowed patrons to settle on chairs covered in gray plastic to read the latest magazines and newspapers.
The most unique feature of the Mount Pleasant branch was a broad window seat in the children’s section that provided a carpeted perch for readers to observe the sidewalk scene. A very large brown stuffed bear was demonstrating how window-seat-sitting is done, having established himself in the secure corner where the southeast wall met the window. Over the bear’s head but closer to the entrance were some kites with their tails dangling from the ceiling.
We didn’t stay long because we only had about twenty minutes of parking on the meter, but I was glad to resume the library-visiting project after many months.