Read it and reap.

The newly renovated Dunwoody library opened this week and the tween and teen and I have visited three times already. We transferred our holds from the Chamblee branch (thanks for your hospitality!), explored the changes, and checked out even more books. We love to read and each of us regularly roars through more than a dozen books each month. (Which is why we aren't terribly fond of required reading over the summer - school assignments interrupt hours and hours of leisurely exploration.)

Changes:

• Newly separated children's area, with a visual entry and sense of enclosure.
• New circulation desk, an island in the middle of the entry area.
• Relocation of self-check out kiosks to the circulation desk.
• Expanded computer research area, with more carrels and stations.
• Relocation of reserved books, large print, audio books, and CDs.
• Centralized reference section, including more foreign language materials.
  
• New paint, carpet, and decorative accents.

The result is open and appealing, plus the shift of reserved and new books to the side means less congestion around the circulation desk.

The Knitternall family "likes this" very much.

Miles to go before we read.

So, the Knitternall family made our first trek to the Chamblee Library on Clairmont Road. Since we're fervent users of the online reservation system, it was just a matter of time before we had to try out our temporary library home. (The Dunwoody library is still open for a few more days, but they're already redirecting reservations to the "library of your choice." Hmmm. Brookhaven or Chamblee?)

Such a pleasant surprise. An airy, newish building, better placement of the computers (lots more and you don't have to dodge around them like we do at Dunwoody), HUGE children's section, an intriguing section devoted to Vietnamese books, and really nice staffers. A faint musty scent of old books wafted through the high-ceilinged space. The parking lot was filled with a familiar mix of mom-vans rear-ended with their kids' school and sport magnets, genteel land yachts, and beat-up jalopies as well as a delivery van with Korean and English lettering.

We weren't there to linger since we needed to visit Borders to pick up the teen's AP US History texts (oh, the joys and expenses of required summer assignments), but we definitely want to go back and stay awhile.

Hint to my Dunwoody neighbors: go only between 10 am and 3 pm - outside those hours and the traffic will be brutal.

Hey, I like my comfort zone. Dunwoody fits us just right. But this one-month inconvenience might open new doors for the Knitternall family.