I love our libraries. SPL and KCLS, I love them all. We are so fortunate to live in an area that values libraries and I frequent them often. I like the little ones like Queen Anne or White Center. I like the bigger ones like Bellevue or Greenwood. I like them all.
Ok, having said that, I just spent four days in Vancouver and loved their Central library. Wow. It is incredible. It is everything a downtown library should be in a big city. Usable spaces, great collections, tons of people, etc. It is a showcase for the city. Archives Canada has half a floor. There is a rooftop garden with a great view. The place was full of people using the library. From all walks of life. I loved it.
I like the Seattle Central Library fine. I like it because there are a ton of books there. But, it is such an unusable building. It does not function well as a library. After visiting the Vancouver Central Library I felt like Seattle missed a huge opportunity. What were they thinking? They built this architectural winner (apparently) but missed the mark completely on what a downtown library could be in a city.
I live a 40 min walk from the Seattle Central Library and I never go. Maybe once or twice a year. I am a 30 min walk from the Queen Anne Branch (up a big hill) and I go 1-3 times a week. I don’t avoid the Central Library because of homeless people. That’s not it. I think it is the usability of the building itself. It just doesn’t work as a library.
No point here really. Except to say I loved the VPL Central Branch and it made me sad that we don’t have something like that in Seattle. The Vancouver building was opened in 1995 and the Seattle one in 2004. They could have looked at VPL and done the same thing. Damn.
submitted by /u/picky-penguin
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