Library Visits

This weekend, in attempt to get started on a project, I ended up going to four different libraries. They were all different and had their own unique qualities. When browsing these libraries, I noticed different things and personally evaluated them with the consideration of space that Professor Lankes mentions in his book. Here is my breakdown of the four libraries.

Bird Library: I'm sure every SU LIS student has been to Bird before, but this weekend was the first time I've been beyond the first floor. I found myself situated at multiple spots on the 2nd floor (I went to Bird twice this weekend). One thing I noticed is that the areas labelled "QUIET" are hardly followed. I think the problem arose from the fact that the area of available computers, where people were printing (and trying to fix the printers) was noisy and unfortunately located right next to tables where people were trying to get work done. I had a hard time stopping myself from giving multiple people the "stink eye". I also ran into some confusion when I was searching through the Reference area on the 2nd floor. One small area is labelled Reference; however, many of the Reference books I was searching for were eventually found beyond the region of Reference. In fact several of my searches led me to the other floors. I'm convinced that the 3rd floor has a missing section of call numbers. Also, I was too embarrassed to actually ask for help due to the fact that I have pride as a Library student and therefore believe that my searching skills are adequate and that it's not "user error" that I can't find my book, haha. Lastly, even though I knew (and read signs) that a large chunk of the stacks had been moved to Carnegie Library, I still tried to reach the 6th floor of Bird. I almost got stuck in an elevator and eventually reread signs and found my book in the 5th floor. The moral of that story is that SU Library needs to change their online catalog so that it doesn't tell me my book's found on the (unreachable, so far) 6th floor.

Carnegie Library: I was fortunate to be invited to a tour of SU's Carnegie Library. After trying many doors, I found the entrance that was not under construction. Obviously the library looks a lot different than Bird, especially because of all the construction. However, I loved the intimacy and tight quarters of the library. There was a more serious tone to this library; Carnegie focuses on the science and math subjects (and library science, though that was a surprise to me, even after 2.5 months into the program!) and therefore the library members are those who use the library mainly as a research area, not as a social space. Though it makes the reconstruction of the building more difficult, I loved how the stacks were a part of the structure of the building.  Books literally hold this place together. Touring Carnegie was like an experience through a time machine. The stairs for each level wrapped around a dumbwaiter   which is used for the transportation of books. I can't wait to see Carnegie Library once the construction is done. I am certainly intrigued by the idea of specialized libraries and I believe I could get some serious work done at a place like that.

Manlius Public Library: Besides the Fayetteville Free Library, this is the first public library I have been to since I've been in Syracuse. I loved that there was a pond and park right by the library. There's nothing wrong with aesthetics at library, even if it is outside. When I entered, I noticed that the children's section was enclosed in it's own room. I liked that because it allows for noise control; I can imagine story hour and any event that the library puts together for the children not being so disruptive to the rest of the library. Like my library at home, the teen section is the area with the most work tables. I searched the library for a computer to search for some books. While there were quite a few computers, they were not easy to access, because they required a log-on username and password. I am not used to this kind of difficulty. At my local library at home, anyone can access a computer without having to enter a password or a library card number. Most of the computers were like that at Manlius; however, I searched around and found about 3 computers just for the library catalog. My last concern about this library was the issue of a book cart. I'm not sure if this is  just happens at academic libraries, but usually the library posts signs asking users not to re-shelve books and to leave them on a cart. However, when I looked for a cart, there were none to be found. I felt guilty about leaving my books on the table I worked at, but come on, I'm just helping the library evaluate what books are being used, haha!

Petit Library: I went to this library with a friend so that she could check out a children's book for a project. My first observation was that the parking was tiny! I know there's been discussions about this particular issue, and now I understand. Luckily we were able to park, no problems. After entering, my second observation was about the size of the library. It's certainly the smallest library I've ever seen. However, that didn't prevent the community. I guess there was an event going on because there were so many people gathered around talking and eating from a spread of snacks. When we went to the children's section, we looked for a particular dinosaur book. We searched and searched but couldn't find it. After re-checking the online catalog we asked the friendly reference librarian in the children's area. She pointed out that sometimes they pull books for different sections and thankfully we found the book in a crate labelled dinosaurs. Later on, I noticed this same librarian chatting with a small boy. She seemed to know him by name and was asking him about school. I loved how the library and librarians at Petit really try to reach out to their community.

All in all, I saw a lot of cool (and frustrating) library practices going on. These visits helped me open my eyes to see how different each library is and to understand that handling space in the library is what you (librarians) make of it.