Local Love: Miller Park Library
Alison Pegg
Nerd Alert: I am ridiculously in love with Columbus’ library system.
From floating down the cookbook aisle dreaming of my next culinary masterpiece (ha!) to reserving the latest fiction online or by ebook, the library has been one of my regular haunts for as long as I’ve lived in Columbus.
Which is why I’m seriously bummed that our Main Library has been closed for so long. As a resident in the Grandview area, the main library was actually my closest branch to home and I became rather spoiled with the browsing selections while picking up my reserves.
I can’t wait for it’s re-opening later in June - not only is it the closest branch to both my home and my new office, but from all of the previews I’ve read (check out Columbus Monthly’s for the most recent) the renovation sounds absolutely incredible.
But, alas, without the main library’s closing, I wouldn’t have been able to find my latest local love, the Miller Park branch of the Upper Arlington library.
When the Columbus Metropolitan Library closed both the Main Library and the Northside Library (double ouch!) earlier this year, they realized they were under-serving a good portion of Columbus’ urban areas (Grandview, Short North, etc). Already having a standing partnership with the UA, Grandview and 11 other library systems, the partnership now became completely reciprocal, allowing CML users (like me!) to reserve, return and check-out books from their number-1-ranked system.
A short walk from our home, the Miller Park branch is quaint, charming and feels like you’ve walked into your neighbor’s well-read living room. They do actually have a fireplace with couches and chairs along with shelves filled with DVD’s to browse for a weekend flick, cookbooks to dream up your next recipe, and the friendliest staff to help you check out your books. It’s seriously old school (the main library is self-serve) and a great reminder that books and movies are meant to be loved and shared.
So while I wait until the Main Library opens again on June 25th, I’m completely comfortable that Miller Park has become my home away from home these last couple months. And who knows? Maybe I’ll be a regular at both as the leaves start to turn next fall (serious nerd alert).
P.S. Did you know your gift to the library can go twice as far right now? Donate between now and June 25th and your gift will be matched up to $100,000! Join me (it's super easy!) and donate here.