A little while ago, we made a sad discovery at the Little Falls Branch. One of our younger customers, Lucian, lost his treasured golden triceratops toy into the abyss of the elevator shaft. It’s not uncommon to see pen caps and loose change take a bad bounce into the impenetrable dark, but it’s always heartbreaking to watch something special sail bravely into the dark. Unfortunately, we had to tell Lucian that we weren’t able to retrieve his toy.
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| The Dark Chasm |
Luckily, when routine maintenance was being performed on the elevator, our generous elevator technician hopped down into the pit and retrieved the golden triceratops for us. We were so delighted that he could be rescued that we immediately got in touch with Lucian’s family to let them know the good news. It was close to closing time so our triceratops friend got to spend the night in the library.
And he was active.
First, he was very thirsty from having spent so many days in the elevator pit, so he journeyed to the staff workroom where he drank his fill from the sink. With his thirst slaked, he realized that his tummy was grumbling, so he set off in search of food.
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His first stop was the 500s section of non-fiction to pick out his choice of meal. Though the flora of his time period was a bit different than what we offer today in North America, he did start drooling thinking about all the tasty leaves on the trees. He was psyched to see that the Little Falls non-fiction section covered all sorts of topics like gardening and even how to draw comics. He’d have to be sure to attend MoComCon.
With his menu decided, he took a peek out the window to see what tasty shrubs the Little Falls campus offered. What a view!
On his way out of the building, he was distracted by the gorgeous Little Falls mural downstairs and all of its glorious greenery. He paused for a second to imagine himself in the woods munching away.
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| Yum! |
Finally, he made it outside the branch and ate. And boy, was he hungry. He stopped at the Little Falls entry for a little nap.
Now that he was full of good food and water, he decided to play in the downstairs meeting room! Since there were no programs or meetings going on, the Little Falls collaborative play space was in full effect. He tried out the early literacy activity wall, and he particularly enjoyed rearranging the magnetic gears and riding them around.
On the floor, he pretended he was Godzilla stomping around a little town on the city rug. But, he was a good triceratops, and he obeyed traffic signals and yielded right of way. He loved being able to hang out in this room, and he made a mental note to come back for storytimes and other programs.
Once he was upstairs again, he decided to take a look at the Friends of the Library, Little Falls Chapter book sale. He loved the selection, but he did not have a wallet, so he just browsed.
On his way back to the Lost and Found bin, he stopped behind the upstairs desk to gaze at the beautiful mural. He really enjoyed taking it all in.
He also stopped by the magnifier to see what he looked like on the big screen…a good looking dino if he did say so himself. He was impressed at the adjustable table, magnifier, and ADA workstation. He thought it was so cool that MCPL offered so many assistive technology options.
Something in the fiction section caught his eye. It was a book that had a dinosaur’s shadow that reminded him of his sister, T-Rex, on it! Hanging out near the book made him homesick, so he decided to retire to the Lost and Found bin for the rest of the night.
Before he knew it, it was morning, and he was being lifted out of the bin. Suddenly, he heard a familiar voice, and it spread the biggest smile across his face. It was Lucian! And he was here to take him back home.
Lucian and his triceratops were super happy to be reunited, and triceratops couldn’t wait to share all of his adventures and the cool things he discovered were offered at Little Falls and Montgomery County Public Libraries.
Patrick Fromm,
Little Falls