A little thread on LISNews about “library envy” The latest library that I have been to that I was envious of was the library at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum which I had the pleasure of getting a tour of when I was in DC. Ample funding, technology + books, multi-language collection, multi-lingual librarians, lovely space, good web site. It’s open to the public, so put it on your dance card if you are in the area along with LoC and the spectacle that is the decline of the DC public library system. I know the librarian there, so drop me an email if you’d like an introduction.
Category: libraries
SPL, media darling
Speaking of library envy… Seattle Public Library is open and getting lots and lots of pictures taken of it. I’m sort of smitten with the weird crazy colors in it; they were one of the things I was going to miss about the interim location they had been in. This has also got to be one of the smartest ideas for placement of Dewey numbers that I’ve seen. SPL was really the first library system I worked for [as a VISTA volunteer] after getting out of library school, so despite all my kvetching about them I have always sort of been rooting for them to get it together.
Seattle Public not for everyone
The new Seattle Public library which just opened seems to have pretty widespread appeal but not everyone adores it. At some level, I’d be worried if they did.
the interior takes its design cues from shopping malls rather than from successful older libraries. Circulation patterns inside the building are far from readily apparent, just like the most up-to-date shopping malls where the design goal is to keep the customer a prisoner of commerce. Indeed the building is likely to be a nightmarish place for anyone with even the slightest touch of agoraphobia.
late nights in the Hamilton library
I really really wonder what it is like to work there
The Library That Puts on Fishnets and Hits the Disco. Look at it. Read about it. I find myself almost stupidly hopeful for this building and this library. maybe we can learn a lesson about the perpetual perfunctoriness of many of our spaces and learn that just because it’s uberfunctional, it doesn’t need to be staid. [nyt, thanks bookofjoe]