Don Boozer’s face lit up as he led a tour group through the Cleveland Public Library downtown. He pointed to the bust of Mark Twain. To one of the world’s tiniest books (1 millimeter by 1 millimeter). To a chess set made from glass salt and pepper shakers with silver tops.
In the main lobby, he suggested that his tour group look up. The ceilings, with their delicately painted trim, appear to be wood. But they aren’t, Boozer explained, they are painted to look like wood. When the 1925 building was under construction, planners were so concerned about fire prevention that the only wood they used was in the flagpole. The walls and ceilings in the original structure, which cost $5 million to build, are mostly plaster.
Those are just some of the details that make this 260,000-square-foot building on Superior Avenue downtown a fascinating place to explore. The library complex consists of the grand original building, the colorful Louis Stokes Wing with its TechCentral, MakerSpace and a collection of 1.5 million photographs, dedicated in 1997. Tucked in between the two is the Eastman Reading Garden, quiet and shaded by trees, a peaceful oasis in the middle of the city.
Boozer is manager of the Literature Department and the Ohio Center for the Book. He pointed out the special features of the library complex during a recent tour he conducted as part of Canalway’s Cleveland History Days. Dozens of local residents participated, including Catherine Collier of Ohio City.
“I really wanted to learn about what was in this beautiful building,” she said.
Murals, marble – and Superman takes center stage
The lobby of the main building features a light fixture portraying a map by Leonardo da Vinci, and frescoes decorate the ceiling. The Big Pig Bank has a slot for coins. The Lamp of Knowledge motif shows up in the lobby and throughout the building.
A mural painted under the Depression-era Works Progress Administration is visible from the lobby behind glass doors. Two rounded marble staircases (frequently used for wedding and prom pictures) take visitors to the second floor, where another WPA mural depicts the Lake Erie waterfront.
Cleveland’s hometown hero, Superman, takes center stage on the second floor of the main building. The collection showcases posters, toys and comics honoring the Man of Steel and the two Clevelanders who created the character.
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Books, Babylonian clay tablets … and chess sets
And then, of course, there are books. Library shelves run up through the building. The Literature Department alone has 500,000 volumes, half fiction, half non-fiction.
In the Special Collections Room on the third floor, Boozer pointed to a range of items, from the tiny book to the array of rare architectural publications. The library’s holdings include Babylonian clay tablets and medieval manuscripts.
But the big claim to fame, he said, is the world’s largest collection of chess-related literature, which, according to the library’s website, “focuses on materials related to chess and checkers, folklore, and the peoples and histories of Africa, Oceania and Asia.”
Boozer stressed that patrons can ask to see anything in the collection: “Everything we have is held in the public trust,” he said.
Making books readily available to readers is key to CPL’s identity: It was the first major library to feature open shelving, meaning patrons could browse and pull interesting materials right off the shelf. It was also the first public library in the United States to offer ebooks (check out its Clevnet service here.)
Want to read in a language other than English? Go to the fourth floor, where you will find materials in about 50 languages (the most commonly checked out are in Russian, Chinese and Spanish, in that order.)
The library, founded in 1869, calls itself the People’s University, and it has nearly 30 branches across the city. Boozer is proud of it.The collection, he said, “tells how people tell stories.”
If you visit: Cleveland Public Library, 325 Superior Ave. Monday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Closed Sundays. Go here to learn how to get a library card.
