Comments from a non-driving Downtown resident and library user: I used to be a heavy user of libraries, but because the material is not up-to-date enough and because I moved downtown a few years ago, I haven't used it more than once a month for a few years. I still go to Walker Library occasionally, but I detest the downtown library because of the wait and the surliness of staff. If I want a history book, a technology book, and a sociology book, I have to wait 10 minutes at three locations for the books to come down from the closed stacks. The local libraries I've been in don't have closed stacks. For me it is often faster to have the books all sent to the much friendlier Walker library where I can pick them up together at one desk and use the trip to buy groceries. If the sections of the library were moved onto different floors, but were not in closed stacks, it would be no more inconvenient than the wonderful Wilson Library at the University. To me the stacks situation is the main issue.
The library is out of the way now. To get to it one has to walk outside of the skyways for more than a block. (This reduces the room in the book carrying bag because the warm clothing has to go somewhere.) Moving the library further away would mean I would use it even less often. And, if I'm cheap enough to walk to Uptown to avoid spending $1.25, I'm certainly not going to pay 50 cents each way to use a shuttle. Another objection to a shuttle would be having to wait for it in the cold. I think the open spaces with tables for reading or playing board games are useful. Peace. N.S. Gill About Guide to Minneapolis/St. Paul http://minneapolis.about.com About Guide to Ancient/Classical History http://ancienthistory.about.com >I also have to admit that I am shamelessly a heavy user of the > libraries, someone who has a rule that she can't check out more books than > she can carry at one time because it is just too tempting to get more. (and > yes I read just about every one...) Given these three things, I have spent > a large amount of time talking to citizens about what they want this new > library to be. I > First off, I think the overarching selection criterion should be what builds > the best library. Once this criterion is met, other criteria can be taken > into account. But we have a crappy building right now because people > compromised on what made a library a good library. And we need learn from > this and put the needs of the library as a library first. > The North site is only two thirds the size of the existing > site and you simply can't fit as many things on the first floor because the > first floor can't be as big. It may mean moving the Teen room to the second > floor. It may mean moving Fiction to the second floor. Or it may mean > making these areas smaller which then affects how many books we can have in > those areas and what retention policies we can have. > > > Pedestrian Access: For pedestrians, most walking traffic will come from > the core. For people who have walked from the center of downtown to the > library, you know that it is quite a haul. Moving the library would add > another block to this walk. I think it is better for the library to be > closer to the people who are going to use it. > > Open Space: If the Library is built on the existing site, there is room for > some open space. This is currently presumed to be a plaza. This area could > be used for people who want to sit outside and read and it could also be > available for programming by the library. The alternative site simply isn't > large enough to accommodate a plaza and this option is lost by selecting > that site. _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
