diff --git a/hsrc_lib/Data/VCache/Trie.hs b/hsrc_lib/Data/VCache/Trie.hs
--- a/hsrc_lib/Data/VCache/Trie.hs
+++ b/hsrc_lib/Data/VCache/Trie.hs
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
     , null, size
     , lookup, lookup', lookupc
     , prefixKeys, lookupPrefix, deletePrefix
+    , lookupPrefixNode
     , insert, delete, adjust
     , insertList, deleteList
 
@@ -127,14 +128,25 @@
     
 -- | Obtain a trie rooted at a given prefix.
 --
--- This operation may need to allocate a new node.
+-- This operation may need to allocate in VCache, e.g. to delete
+-- some fraction of the requested prefix. This isn't optimal for
+-- performance.
 lookupPrefix :: (VCacheable a) => ByteString -> Trie a -> Trie a
 lookupPrefix k tr =
-    let child = _lookupP k (trie_root tr) in
-    Trie child (trie_space tr)
+    let node = lookupPrefixNode k tr in
+    let vc = trie_space tr in
+    let child = vref vc <$> node in
+    Trie child vc
 
-_lookupP :: (VCacheable a) => ByteString -> Child a -> Child a
-_lookupP key c | B.null key = c -- stop on exact node
+-- | Obtain a trie node rooted at a given prefix, if any content
+-- exists at this prefix. This operation allows some performance 
+-- benefits compared to 'lookupPrefix' because it never allocates
+-- at the VCache layer. 
+lookupPrefixNode :: (VCacheable a) => ByteString -> Trie a -> Maybe (Node a)
+lookupPrefixNode k = _lookupP k . trie_root
+
+_lookupP :: (VCacheable a) => ByteString -> Child a -> Maybe (Node a)
+_lookupP key c | B.null key = deref' <$> c -- stop on exact node
 _lookupP _ Nothing = Nothing -- 
 _lookupP key (Just c) = 
     let tn = deref' c in
@@ -147,7 +159,7 @@
             assert (s == k) $
             let pre' = B.drop k pre in -- trim key from prefix
             let tn' = tn { trie_prefix = pre' } in
-            Just $! vref (vref_space c) tn' -- allocate new node
+            Just $! tn' -- allocate new node
        else if (s < p) then Nothing else 
             assert (s == p) $
             let key' = B.drop (p+1) key in
diff --git a/hsrc_lib/Data/VCache/Trie/Type.hs b/hsrc_lib/Data/VCache/Trie/Type.hs
--- a/hsrc_lib/Data/VCache/Trie/Type.hs
+++ b/hsrc_lib/Data/VCache/Trie/Type.hs
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@
     put (Node c p v) = putChildren c >> put p >> put v
 instance (VCacheable a) => VCacheable (Trie a) where
     get = Trie <$> get <*> getVSpace
-    put = put . trie_root
+    put (Trie r vc) = put r >> put vc
 instance Show (Trie a) where
     showsPrec _ t = showString "Trie#" . shows (unsafeTrieAddr t)
 
diff --git a/vcache-trie.cabal b/vcache-trie.cabal
--- a/vcache-trie.cabal
+++ b/vcache-trie.cabal
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 Name: vcache-trie
-Version: 0.1.1
+Version: 0.1.2
 Synopsis: patricia tries modeled above VCache 
 Category: Database
 Description:
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@
   structures be modeled above it. The trie is useful for modeling key
   value databases or abstract virtual filesystems, where keys have 
   shared prefixes or elements with a common prefix are likely to be
-  updated together.
+  updated together. 
   .
   Currently, the implementation is specialized to a bytestring trie.
   
@@ -40,6 +40,9 @@
   Exposed-Modules:
     Data.VCache.Trie
     Data.VCache.Trie.Type
+
+    -- Data.VCache.Trie.Monoid
+    -- Data.VCache.Trie.Monoid.Type
 
   Other-Modules: