See What the Paso Robles Library Has for the Holidays

Whether you need to do some last minute shopping or just need something special for Christmas reading, you can find it at the Paso Robles Library. As you see suggested in this poster on the wall in the library, reading is a great family activity. One can  pick out a Christmas story as suggested in the poster and make a tradition of reading it on Christmas Eve. The library has several seasonal displays scattered throughout its reading areas. Please click to enlarge any photo you want to see more clearly.

Holiday Poster at Paso Robles Library, Photo © B. Radisavljevic

If you haven't finished your shopping yet, you may find a small gift at the Friends of the Library Gift Shop. Besides all the new items inside the store, there is a wider selection than usual of used books outside the store in the hallway. If you can't find exactly the gift you had in mind, just walk around the corner to Studios on the Park on Pine, across from the park and find something unique. Here are some photos of a selection of their special gift items.

Photo © B. Radisavljevic

A little past the main door of the library, on the right wall, are the new books. If you won't be visiting family or hosting them and you have some spare time to read, you are sure to find something entertaining on these shelves. I always look here first to see if there is anything new from my favorite authors. Here is a link to my  reviews of   some of the books for adults I have found there and in other places around the library. The library may not still have all of them.

Photo © B. Radisavljevic

As I walked toward the stacks, I saw this display of holiday music, mostly associated with Christmas. This is a good way to supplement your own supply of music for a couple of weeks without having to buy more. It's always nice to have something new to listen to while you sit around the tree or work in the kitchen.

Photo © B. Radisavljevic

If you have children, you won't want to miss getting a special holiday story to read to them while they wait for Santa to arrive. Here is what was on display less than a week ago. I'm sure more books have come and gone from it since then. Be sure to click if you want to see the titles more clearly.

Photo © B. Radisavljevic

Remember to bring a few books you haven't read yet into your home for the holidays, or revisit some old favorites.

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L is for Library

When I think of our local library, I now think of the newer Paso Robles Library. It replaced our old historic Carnegie Library that remains in City Park as the home of the Paso Robles Historical Society. This is the new library pictured here. It is not as easy as the old library to get into one photograph. It runs the length of an entire city block.

Paso Robles Library, Photo © B. Radisavljevic

This is the view of the entrance from the parking lot. To the left of the building is the conference room where meetings are held, including City Council Meetings.  The library occupies the entire first floor. The City Hall occupies the entire second floor. The oak tree shades the benches where people often sit to read or rest outside. You can see that it's taller than the two story building, and also very wide.

Part of Library Gift Shop in hallway. Photo © B. Radisavljevic

When you enter the library from this direction, almost the first thing you see to the left are the restrooms and the hallway that houses the outside part of the gift shop. The gift shop is run by the Friends of the Library and features new merchandise, much of it educational and appealing to children and young people. The part you see on the carts in the hallways are magazines, used books and library discards being sold at thrift store prices. They are wheeled out each day when the store opens,  and taken in each evening when the store closes.

Children's Department of Paso Robles Library. Photo © B. Radisavljevic

Today I went into the children's department, and it's quite large. I wanted to show you this view of it because of the little boy using the computer. The library has a separate computer room, but this young man was happily occupied here. Maybe it's only a catalog, but it seemed to keep him happier for longer than a catalog would. You can find him under the bulletin board in the middle of the room past the video case in the foreground.

Art Wall in Paso Robles Library. Photo © B. Radisavljevic

The library often features displays of artwork on the wall beside the ramp that leads down to the reference room and adult stacks. The featured artist when I was there today was Sandra MacGillivray, someone whose work I had not seen before. She is from New Mexico, but lived for years in Paso Robles on a ranch that later became a vineyard. She studied under our local artists Nancy Becker and Rosey Rosenthal, and once was the director of the Sculptor Art Gallery in Paso Robles. After the death of her husband, she moved back to New Mexico, but is evidently back in Paso Robles for at least a visit.

Adult Stacks and Reference Department in Paso Robles Library. Photo © B. Radisavljevic

Of course for many of us, the most important part of the library is its books. This is a view of the adult department looking down from the periodicals department. In the center front is the reference desk. On both sides of it you will find fiction. In the back you see the nonfiction stacks. Mysteries and science fiction are at the very back.

The bank of windows on the left appears as a large curved wall on the outside of the building. That's one of the reasons it's so hard to photograph that side from the outside. Those windows look out on City Park across the street.

Our library is very user friendly, although it appears the some of the tables and chairs where people used to sit and read (or sleep) have disappeared. Many of the homeless used to gather in that section. I'm wondering if there's a connection. It could also be that more bookcases are taking up the room the tables and large chairs used to.

How large is your public library? Is it an older or newer building. What does it have besides books? Does it sell any used books or magazines?

Part of Library Gift Shop in hallway. Photo © B. Radisavljevic

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G is for General Store

Until  yesterday, I didn't realize Paso Robles had such a thing as a general store. However if you rid yourself of preconceived ideas of what a general store is, Paso Robles does have one. My idea of a general store was more in line with the ones found in small towns or in the early pioneer towns where a general store tried  to carry everything a family might need to survive -- food, blankets, tools, seeds, fabric, kitchen utensils, whatever was essential for living daily life.

The General Store in Paso Robles is a bit different. It carries instead an assortment of goods that make life more pleasant and more fun -- for yourself or someone you want to gift. Its window says is has "local goods and provisions for pantry and home." Many of these are gourmet foods like jams, candied nuts, local vinegars, seasonings, olive oils, and wines. They also have a dairy case of local cheese and salami. As I was browsing, I was given a sample of the Paso Almond Brittle, and it was very tasty. Did I mention that the owner and the others manning the store were very helpful? No one will ignore you here.

Browsing the shelves is a lot of fun. It was especially so for me. I've had many years of experience selling books and buying them wholesale. I've been to Book Expo a couple of times and seen all that publishers have had to offer bookstores. Naturally my eyes were drawn to the book displays.  I saw at least two of them. One had a lot of books on cooking and wine -- a wise choice for this area where foodies abound and wine tasting is a favorite leisure activity. But since I've specialized in children's and educational books for the past twenty years, I especially liked this display.

For nine of my years in retail I was a greeting card buyer. I attended gift shows twice a year and sales reps for card publishers called me often. My goal was to have beautiful tasteful cards that were uplifting and often humorous, but never in a mean or vulgar way. Naturally when I saw a card rack in a corner on the walls, I had to check it out. I'll just say that if a sales rep had showed me these cards, I would have bought them. They are a rare find. And they have some great ones for mothers. These are just a few in the display. You can make the photo larger by clicking it to read the words.

There's not enough room to show you the whole store. You will just have to  go downtown to 841 12th Street see it for yourself. You can also preview the General Store website and their Facebook Page for a close look at some items I didn't show you here. It won't show you all the baskets, hats, books, wall hangings, towels, tote bags and other goodies you will find if you actually visit the store, though. Next time you are downtown, just stop in and look around. If you go before Mother's Day, you're sure to find something your mom or grown daughter would love -- even if it's just a bag of this scrumptious almond brittle.

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Antique Corner in Paso Robles

Antique Dolls at Two Susans, © Barbara Radisavljevic

Most people think of shops on Spring Street when they are looking for antiques, but on a stroll down Pine Street one day in March, 2013, I discovered a row of antique shops on the corner of 14th Street and Pine. I was delighted at all that was available inside. I posted some photos about those shops then in my article, Downtown Paso Robles: An Insiders View. The photo above was taken at Two Susans Antique Store in 2013.

This week I went back to see what had changed in almost two years. In a word, everything. The merchandise in both The Cottage and Two Susans appeared to have completely turned over, and the proprietors confirmed that new items are always appearing to replace what has sold. I did notice, though, that there seemed to be less antiques this year and more simply nostalgic gift type items than when I was last there. The proprietors of both Two Susans and The Cottage stock their stores themselves. This photo shows their storefronts. You can click any photo to expand it.

The largest store in this row of antique stores, Reminisce,  is really more like a mall with separate booths managed by those who use the space. The storefront, or at least part of it, is pictured below. It is right on the corner of 14th Street and Pine.

Window of Reminisce Antique Shop Paso Robles,© Barbara Radisavljevic

Each display has its own character. I snapped a photo of this display which shows the average size of the spaces and how much can be displayed in each booth. I can't say this display is typical, since, of course, every display has unique items and its own character. Some are thematic and some are a bit more inclusive of just about anything that appealed to the curator.

I found the mailbox below in the corner of a neighboring booth. It appealed to me because I like unique mailboxes and because I'm a bookseller. So why would I not love this?

If you come to Paso Robles in search of unique items in an out of the way corner of downtown, be sure to visit these shops.