Comments on: in defense of the dinky library, among other things

By: laura

laura — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 02:04:24 +0000

Good to know there are more pokey little library fans out there in the world. I should clarify that I agree with those who are disappointed by crumby library service. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the kinds of things others have talked about, but that may be in part because I have a sort of general aversion to interaction (32 on that autism spectrum test), and so if I can avoid talking to people in an unfamiliar establishment, I usually do. I don’t think I ever asked a question of a librarian until I started library school, and I still don’t do it often.

By: walt crawford

walt crawford — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 17:12:00 +0000

Me three. When we lived in Redwood City, I loved a tiny little branch library that was walkable from our house–actually, almost never went to the much larger central library. And while I love the new(ish), much larger, Mountain View PL, I was happy enough using the old, crowded, less-inviting library before the new one was built.

I was a little shocked by some of the posts on that topic, but probably shouldn’t have been. In a “system” of 13,000+ libraries, there have to be a few where the librarians aren’t welcoming. As for welcoming librarians with less-than-magnificent facilities: There are LOTS of us who can deal with that just fine.

By: Steve Lawson

Steve Lawson — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 14:08:47 +0000

Reading Joshua’s comment also makes me think that one nice thing about the public library system in a good-sized city is that, assuming you can get around easily enough, you often have a certain amount of choice between old and new, big and small, right within the public library system itself. In San Diego, I could walk to two smallish branch libraries, head downtown for the big old main library, or use the new, more “bookstore-style” branch in the shopping center where we often went on weekends. And I used ‘em all.

Maybe that doesn’t hold true in Meeteetse, WY, though!

By: joshua m. neff

joshua m. neff — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 13:38:32 +0000

I’ll second that: nice post. Personally, I prefer thrift stores to department stores and small, dark, dusty used bookstores to big, brightly-lit stores like Borders and B&N. I prefer working at my little branch library to working at our larger main library. And I loved the old Iowa City library. (I love the new one, too.)

I would use my local library no matter what it looked like. When I moved to Milwaukee for library school, my local library wasn’t the gorgeous, epic Main Library, it was the dinky, dingy, boxlike East Branch. It didn’t have a huge collection of anything I wanted, but it had enough books, video tapes and DVDs to help me out. I didn’t really know anyone in Milwaukee, I hadn’t started school yet, and I was broke. That little library branch was one of the main focal points of entertainment for me. So, I have a soft spot for small, poorly designed, poorly laid out libraries with small collections and a small staff of friendly, dedicated people.

But I’m sympathetic to people who feel that their local library doesn’t have anything to offer. Meredith’s post made clear that she didn’t feel welcome by her library’s staff, and I’ve definitely been in libraries with a similar unwelcoming feel. That’s heartbreaking.

By: Steve Lawson

Steve Lawson — Thu, 11 Jan 2007 05:02:45 +0000

Nice post. I, too, have used libraries just about everywhere I have lived, from the grand to the grubby. But I didn’t want to linger in the smaller, more cramped branch libraries, or the central libraries that were long overdue (no pun intended) for a renovation. I tended to get in and out pretty quickly. I feel lucky that the libraries in Colorado Springs are well-heeled, well-run, and well-kept-up. And, according to a recent article in the local paper, they do OK by the homeless as well.

I also don’t really want a department store or even bookstore feel to my library (see, if you haven’t already, Mark Lindner’s interesting response to Meredith’s post. But even the snazziest new libraries I have visited don’t really give me that “store” feeling because (a) its all free and (b) there’s so much old stuff.

One of the main reasons I go to the public library so frequently is that it is a place where that my children and I all enjoy which is entirely free (as in beer, as in freedom). And I still think nothing beats the public library for finding a bunch of weird old stuff you didn’t know you were interested in and would never pay for in a million years.