It was a big day today in the German Village/Schumacher Place/near East Side part of Columbus. The new Parsons branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library opened.
The old Parsons branch was the smallest branch in the excellent Columbus system. It was really more like a high school or junior high library than a public library branch, but it was the only library within walking distance when the Main Library closed for renovations, and Kish and I visited and used it extensively. Then the old Parsons branch shut down, leaving us without a nearby library for an uncomfortable period of time for us regular library users, before the new branch opened a few blocks directly south of the old location.
The new branch is a big improvement — literally. It’s much larger, inside and out, and my brief bit of perusing during our visit indicates that its collection is more extensive than that at the old branch, too. That’s a welcome change indeed, because I like browsing and grabbing a book that strikes my fancy at the time, and I had just about worked through all of the selections in my preferred literary genres in the standing collection at the old branch. With the additional book options available at the new location, I’ll be kept busy for a while.
I’m not sure that we’re going to keep using the Parsons Branch, however, when the Main Library renovations are done and Main reopens to the public in a few weeks. With the shift of Parsons to the south, it’s almost certainly farther away from us than the Main Library. When you add that fact to the far more extensive standing collection at Main, I suspect that my choice when I’m in the mood for some browsing will be to cross over the freeway and head to Main.
The new Parsons branch will be interesting to keep an eye on for another reason. It’s part of the ongoing effort to improve Parsons Avenue, and with the move south it’s an attempt to nudge the redevelopment wave a few blocks farther away from the Nationwide Children’s Hospital zone. The new neighborhood for the branch has a decidedly more gritty feel, but that may change as the new library and some other redevelopment efforts in the area come on line. I’m sure that civic leaders are hoping that a new library can help the area feel more like a neighborhood and less like an urban renewal project. Today, at least, the branch was jammed on its opening day. It would be a good sign if that continues.
Webner House 