I knew I'd get back exactly what has been posted: that the library staff are completely serving of the public, that their individual needs weren't important, that I've never worked with librarians, and that my location in St. Michael seems to intimate that I shouldn't have a say. These are shallow arguments.
In the larger scheme of things, every organization I've worked with always wants everything to service it's users in the primary spot. Let me reiterate - everybody wants a big floorplate, especially on the first floor - it doesn't make any difference if it is a library or a coffee shop or an office building or a social service agency. That's why 3 dimensional thinking is so important. So - take part of the south block if you need it for your building or build a large concourse level under the street to get your big floorplate - there are a million ways to think about getting more space. But we have to let go of our socialization that restricts us in thinking of orthogonal patterns defined by the streets, horizontal only planes and other road blocks. I am not attacking individual librarians or their needs, I have consistently commented on the cultural of programming a building and that this library problem is no different than just about everything else. And I think the larger picture of redevelopment in the area is loosing out because there has been no planning vision for the city in the past couple of decades. Because of all of these things, the library will be built on the south block with a big footprint and it will grab as much land as it can get so it can be seen from a distance. However, the more prudent and sensible approach is to put the library on a block where you can borrow the vista land from a neighboring building without asking for more money for the taxpayers (no matter where they live) and at the same time help to spur redevelopment in the area. (If the library really thought that the vista to the building was so important, why didn't they locate in another spot where they could borrow that vista. The answer is that it has only become important now as a way to satiate those who want a more prominent building. This is backwards programming and I still say they are trying to capture the land on both blocks for their needs. This is not what had been promised to the taxpayers.) It is easy to point to your solution by telling people that you don't want them to have to go to two different floors for information on Chaucer. It is easy to say that you carry 20 books out of the library every week and that's the person we should be concerned about. It is easy to tell people they haven't worked with your kind before or to intimate that because of where they live they should have no say (See: Geographical Discrimination. Look at immigrant problems in the city for more reference). Someday, the insular thinking of some people in the City will be reformed. And instead of fighting the suburbs and others who haven't lived in the city for decades or haven't fallen on the sword of living in an inner city neighborhood, or haven't engaged the elitist ultra liberal me-ism thinking; those people will actually engage the dialogue of others unlike themselves in a critical way instead of consistently pooh-poohing it. I anticipate that day with baited breath. I can hear the sounds of keys clicking on the other side of the listserve... :-) R u s s e l l W. P e t e r s o n Saint Michael, Minnesota [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________ "You can only fly if you stretch your wings." _______________________________________ 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
