Comments on: my trip to Seattle http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/ putting the rarin back in librarian since 1999 Sun, 21 Mar 2010 02:06:40 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Carlos Ovalle http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/comment-page-1/#comment-103540 Carlos Ovalle Sat, 04 Aug 2007 14:00:55 +0000 http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/#comment-103540 Hmm... what comic books? ^_^ Hmm… what comic books? ^_^

]]> By: elswhere http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/comment-page-1/#comment-103261 elswhere Fri, 03 Aug 2007 07:01:36 +0000 http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/#comment-103261 Yeah. What everyone said. I like the sorting system and the concept of the spiral (though not the seedy way they've done it) and not much else. And the children's section is particularly un-child-friendly. Have you ever been to the downtown Vancouver (B.C.) library? It was also controversial and expensive to build, but I think they did a much better job of making the library beautiful and impressive *and* making it work as a library. Yeah. What everyone said. I like the sorting system and the concept of the spiral (though not the seedy way they’ve done it) and not much else. And the children’s section is particularly un-child-friendly.

Have you ever been to the downtown Vancouver (B.C.) library? It was also controversial and expensive to build, but I think they did a much better job of making the library beautiful and impressive *and* making it work as a library.

]]> By: Jamie Anderson http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/comment-page-1/#comment-103200 Jamie Anderson Thu, 02 Aug 2007 22:59:00 +0000 http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/#comment-103200 Yes, 'meh' really sums it up. I wanted to like the building but I can't. I also visited on a typical Vancouver/Seattle pissing-rain November day and it had this odd feeling of being a cold cave with the walls closing in on me. Yes, ‘meh’ really sums it up. I wanted to like the building but I can’t. I also visited on a typical Vancouver/Seattle pissing-rain November day and it had this odd feeling of being a cold cave with the walls closing in on me.

]]> By: sharon http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/comment-page-1/#comment-103167 sharon Thu, 02 Aug 2007 20:50:51 +0000 http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/#comment-103167 James Howard Kunstler, author of several books and the blog Clusterfuck Nation, gave the SPL his Eyesore of the Month award several months ago. Your observations confirm what I had suspected, that the interior is just as devoid of character as is the exterior. As for me, I prefer the neo-classical turn of the 20th century Carnegie style library, and I believe that books will still be around long after I'm gone. James Howard Kunstler, author of several books and the blog Clusterfuck Nation, gave the SPL his Eyesore of the Month award several months ago. Your observations confirm what I had suspected, that the interior is just as devoid of character as is the exterior. As for me, I prefer the neo-classical turn of the 20th century Carnegie style library, and I believe that books will still be around long after I’m gone.

]]> By: Katie http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/comment-page-1/#comment-103126 Katie Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:46:21 +0000 http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/#comment-103126 You've perfectly describes my feelings of "Meh." when I visited in January. I think I had just ascribed it to being winter time and my mind on other things, but I wasn't in love with the warehouse design of the stacks, and the overall feeling of the space, despite having a glass exterior, being dark. As I picture it in my mind, the pervasive sense is of dimness, and really, do we want our institutions of learning to leave such an impression? You’ve perfectly describes my feelings of “Meh.” when I visited in January. I think I had just ascribed it to being winter time and my mind on other things, but I wasn’t in love with the warehouse design of the stacks, and the overall feeling of the space, despite having a glass exterior, being dark. As I picture it in my mind, the pervasive sense is of dimness, and really, do we want our institutions of learning to leave such an impression?

]]> By: Amanda http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/comment-page-1/#comment-103120 Amanda Thu, 02 Aug 2007 18:25:18 +0000 http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/#comment-103120 I no longer live in Seattle either (I moved back to my home state about 18 months ago), but I visited this library in late December, 2004, about six months after it opened. A friend (also in library school at the time) and I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the RFID sorting system. That was impressive, but we did not care for the rest of the building. All that glass is nice, but artificial lighting is poor, and as you know, it can be very dreary in Seattle much of the year. It was gray and raining that day in December and the library was dark, dark, dark. This was the Christmas break and the children's area was full of kids and LOUD. Not that children's areas are supposed to be quiet, but with only glass, steel, concrete and wood (that "greenhouse" feel that the PUBLIB post refers to), there is NOTHING in the area to absorb sound. It reverberated everywhere. With the weird color schemes, lack of signage, and terrible flow (One-way escalators? How would you like to be caught in the top of the spiral during an earthquake?), this is an incredible user-unfriendly building. Not sure if you ever saw <a href="http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=18407" rel="nofollow">this article in one of Seattle's weekly alternative newspapers</a>, (listed as "my" website above, since I'm not sure my HTML code will work in this comment), but it might give you something to laugh about. I no longer live in Seattle either (I moved back to my home state about 18 months ago), but I visited this library in late December, 2004, about six months after it opened. A friend (also in library school at the time) and I got a behind-the-scenes tour of the RFID sorting system. That was impressive, but we did not care for the rest of the building. All that glass is nice, but artificial lighting is poor, and as you know, it can be very dreary in Seattle much of the year. It was gray and raining that day in December and the library was dark, dark, dark.

This was the Christmas break and the children’s area was full of kids and LOUD. Not that children’s areas are supposed to be quiet, but with only glass, steel, concrete and wood (that “greenhouse” feel that the PUBLIB post refers to), there is NOTHING in the area to absorb sound. It reverberated everywhere.

With the weird color schemes, lack of signage, and terrible flow (One-way escalators? How would you like to be caught in the top of the spiral during an earthquake?), this is an incredible user-unfriendly building.

Not sure if you ever saw this article in one of Seattle’s weekly alternative newspapers, (listed as “my” website above, since I’m not sure my HTML code will work in this comment), but it might give you something to laugh about.

]]> By: John Gehner http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/comment-page-1/#comment-103086 John Gehner Thu, 02 Aug 2007 15:30:44 +0000 http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/#comment-103086 I snapped a bunch of digital pics of the Seattle Public Library when I was there back in January. I, too, found it ironic that so much dough was spent on the building but that the ref desk "Ask Me" and computer lab signs (and equivalents) were just laser print-outs taped to the wall. Har. I guess Koolhaas didn't worry himself over the smaller details for a consistent aesthetic ... the way Wright used to not only design houses but even the tableware in the dining room. SPL would be a great site for a laser-tag or paintball tournament. I snapped a bunch of digital pics of the Seattle Public Library when I was there back in January. I, too, found it ironic that so much dough was spent on the building but that the ref desk “Ask Me” and computer lab signs (and equivalents) were just laser print-outs taped to the wall. Har. I guess Koolhaas didn’t worry himself over the smaller details for a consistent aesthetic … the way Wright used to not only design houses but even the tableware in the dining room. SPL would be a great site for a laser-tag or paintball tournament.

]]> By: Libraridan http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/comment-page-1/#comment-103078 Libraridan Thu, 02 Aug 2007 14:38:57 +0000 http://www.librarian.net/stax/2103/my-trip-to-seattle/#comment-103078 Ah the bookless future...the twisted dream of people who still don't grok the entirety of L2.0. And to top that off, the overweening hubris of architects in love with their own brilliance, who nevertheless remain clueless as to very human elements of a full service library. It sounds like SPL was a re-hash of SFPL, but with the F removed, if only partially. Ah the bookless future…the twisted dream of people who still don’t grok the entirety of L2.0. And to top that off, the overweening hubris of architects in love with their own brilliance, who nevertheless remain clueless as to very human elements of a full service library. It sounds like SPL was a re-hash of SFPL, but with the F removed, if only partially.

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