The coolest library in the country! Well, that's what I think from what I've seen and my mom's a librarian and I grew up in libraries and I even have a wallet just for my cross-country library card collection so I'm saying I'm comparing/ contrasting this library to/ with many a library and this is #1! That's not to say it's not without its faults, by any means. I'm zero percent a fan of how religious it's allowed to be while pretending not to be that by saying it's public space and people have freedom of speech in public places which is super-ironic because the Jehovah's Witnesses who stand around outside with their glaring, in-your-face, screaming proselytizing literature are not allowed to speak to people unless approached so ... clearly, they (the librarians and other library representatives) would not believe their own words were they to actually look into their purported message ... and I do not enjoy the church taking over the inside downstairs bulletin to spread their message of 'joy' and whatnot, either. I'm not even going to say they have the best selection of books -- but what they do have, as the name indicates, is a commitment to the future and incredible facilities with lots going on. It's incredible! So many classes, activities, events, conferences, things to do and learn and see and hear and get to know .... I did yoga, tai chi, made videos on high-quality cameras in a studio (Studio 21C, of course!) equipped with really nice lights, a green screen, some props, a sound isolation booth for sound-only recording, and not only that but there is instruction available so wow! It's so fun and inspiring -- plus it's got great views inside and out. I do wish, though, not for my sake but for some children I saw waiting outside in the windy cold for rides that there were some way or somewhere they could stay that were warmer and safer ... safer in terms of the weather, not other things.
The bathrooms are nice and clean (at least almost always), you're allowed to eat inside -- no, not in the bathrooms! Gross! In the library! -- as long as the food is neat and you eat it carefully and it's not smelly, there's a courtyard, some really cool-looking birds hang out in the area, you can do tai chi and qi gong while looking out at the mountains through the big windows, there are vending machines, a nice little bookstore with intelligent volunteers, and just so much going on it's generally unbelievable enough to be mind-blowing. Incomparable, literally.
Now, if only some of the ... patrons/ matrons and staff weren't so into talking about the devil, that would be really great! But hey, that's their holdup -- too bad for them!
Um, no, I must add one more thing. The doors by the studio (21C, once again) are only for staff and it's really not easy to haul all one's gear all the way through the library. If the issue is those doors don't have a security metal detector or something (or whatever that is that's by the other doors for the public), then I think they should be installed and ... as much as I loved it, I stopped going when I was stopped from going out those doors which I did not realize I was not allowed to do. I was looked down at by someone-or-other and 'corrected' rather nastily on my behaviour and I just didn't want to be treated in that way .... I still think it's by far the best library in the country that I've ever experienced but that wasn't enough to make me want to keep going back because it made me so sad, it was so jolting and unexpected. I'd been going there frequently for a month at that point. In fact, it's the reason I stayed in the area as long as I did .... It's that much of a draw. It's inspired me to study film, as well. I want to feel more welcome there than I do. Oh, maybe it's also that they want to film everyone as they come and go, now that I think about it -- they do that when you come in the 'allowed' doors. It was mainly the nasty look I got, though, and the lack of communication when I verbally expressed my surprise that had me moving on elsewhere in my life .... I'll still give it five stars or even ten if possible because it so blows away the non-existent competition but that doesn't mean there isn't a ton of room for improvement!
As far as the staff of Studio 21C, though, absolutely stellar! They/ you rock! Thank you!!!!!!!!!! :-D
Just a tiny bit more: it's weird how we're treated based on how we do or don't look. If I appeared to have difficulty walking, I'm sure I'd be treated better and allowed to do things in a way that's easier and works better for me ... or at least not get nasty looks for wanting to walk and/ or carry things a shorter distance. Of course, it could just be that this -- was he security? I don't even know! -- person just isn't what we might call 'highly verbal,' but his disparaging look said everything .... He was apparently disgusted with me and it disgusted me, as well. :-(
I'm still really grateful to the really great people, though! So caring! :-D read more