A Busy Public Library on a Rainy Day

Rain streaks the tall windows of a public library, bare trees and gray sky visible outside. In the children's corner, kids sprawl across beanbags and a round rug piled with picture books, while nearby a leaning tower of books has toppled across a patterned carpet. Rows of tall shelves stretch through the center of the room, one shelf holding a cat curled among the spines and another hiding a second cat lower down. At long tables, readers bend over open books, and study carrels line one side for quieter work. A bank of computers keeps several visitors busy, though a spilled cup has left a dark puddle on the floor nearby. A librarian wheels a cart of returns past a flowered rug, and near the entrance, a boy shakes out a dripping yellow umbrella, tracking puddles across the tile. Every reading nook and shelf run here keeps its own small world of books.