Greene County Library: Where Everybody Knows Your Name

For the fourth stop on Library Tour Fall 2014, we traveled north to the Greene County Library, a branch of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library. Greene County is Albemarle's scenic and mostly rural neighbor to the north. The Library is located in Stanardsville, a quaint hamlet about 30 minutes from Charlottesville with one Main Street, tiny buildings marked "Post Office" and "Voter Registration", and lush mountain views.  The library building itself (a plain, new-ish brick building with an expansive parking lot) is unremarkable, particularly in the context of antebellum architecture in the homes, churches and picturesque storefronts that surround it.

The interior was simple, but with everything you would expect from a small town library: adorable children's section with tiny tables & chairs and seasonally appropriate Halloween display; small but adequate row of adult-sized tables; Information Desk with sweet, chatty ladies who seemed to know most of the library patrons by name.  The atmosphere was not particularly quiet (toddlers making toddler noises, librarians chatting up the regulars), but it was comfortable and relaxed.  I can't say that I would make the thirty minute drive again, just for the Library. But as small town libraries go, this one appears well-stocked, well-staffed, and popular among the locals.