Baltimore County has given its North Point Library a $300,000 makeover, refurbishing the one-story building's entrance with a paved walkway, landscaping, benches and bicycle racks as well as canopies and additional lighting. Contractors gave exterior walls fresh coats of paint and added more handicapped parking. "The improvements are grand," said Steven Hargrove, assistant manager of the library on Merritt Boulevard in Dundalk. "There is a lot more green now and a lot less concrete. We have trees, gardens and grass surrounding us." The library's circulation reached nearly 500,000 last year.

- Mary Gail Hare