The New and "Improved" Library

Anyone who knows me well, knows how I feel about the library in our fair city.  It is an old hardware store that was supposed to be a temporary arrangement, but ended up being there for decades.

You can read more of my rantings in this post. (Sorry if that doesn't work, I've never tried it before.)

Fast forward to June, 2013.  There is finally a new library in town - downtown, in fact.  It is also a former hardware store (ironic) but it has been remodeled into a really beautiful building.  It is large, spacious and looks like a library, not a cinder block building.  I was ecstatic to hear there was finally a solution to a big problem, I was able to volunteer a little when they were getting ready to move to the new building and I was eagerly awaiting the opening day...
You can see it was a great effort, and it is about the farthest thing from looking like a hardware store.  You can't see the benches in front, but there are quotes, and mosaics, and the round thing in front is a sort of fountain.  Who wouldn't love this library in their town???

Here's the thing - it is a huge disappointment to me.  Maybe I am being overly sensitive about the whole thing, and not grateful enough.  I am not sure what to think.

The first thing that was hard to swallow was the fact that instead of using the dewey decimal system to catalog the books, they used a new system called BI-SAC.  It categorizes the books by subject.  A book about quilting may have a label on it like  QUILTING
                                                               HOW TO
                                                               BURNS
It basically dumbs things down so people don't have to find the call number, then find the book.  They still have to look it up on a computer, and still have to find the book.  I learned about this because my job as a volunteer was to put the new labels on the books.  It made me sad.  I can't tell you why, but I have always loved the Dewey Decimal System.  It really makes sense to me.  BI-SAC seems like there could be a lot of mistakes, and I know for a fact more than one book was mislabeled during the process.

The other thing that is stuck in my craw is the quantity of books.  This new building is huge, and there is a second floor, and there is ROOM FOR LOTS OF BOOKS.  I know (also as a result of volunteering) that many titles were deleted because the library powers that be wanted the library to be open and spacious.  Not crowded...even with books!!! ) I find that totally oxymoronic, if that may apply here!  What better use for space in a library than for books? (I am almost certain the chapter book section is smaller than the old space.  Trevor was sure there were more books upstairs, but after today, I will have to tell him that is all there is!  :(

I really don't understand either of these things.  Maybe I have been an ostrich with my head in the sand, and libraries are on their way out.  This last disappointment may be the evidence that is true.  There are two big screens in the teen area for video games!!!  Really???  That is about the last thing I would want my teenagers to go to the library for!  And, really, I don't have any qualms about taxes that may go to the library, but video games is not something I am excited to pay for!  We don't even have them in our home - except WII, which I suppose is considered a game system, but I don't consider it like I would a PS3 or X-Box.

Anyway, since it was a busy summer, I really haven't had a chance to explore our new library.  Today I had to pick up a book on CD so I took a few minutes to look around.  Well, you know how I feel.  Really sad that something with so much potential is not living up to it!  Really, really sad.  :(