The Great Library Adventure: We Head Downtown!

I have been thoroughly enjoying The Great Library Adventure, and I am excited that I have been able to visit so many locations! Over the past couple months, I heard that the Downtown library was something grand to behold, and I could not believe that I had not visited it before, so I knew that I needed to visit.

After attending noon Mass at St. Joseph Old Cathedral downtown, I grabbed my library bag and began walking down the street. 

Soon, I could see my destination: a massive building towered in front of me, and I became giddy as I realized that this was the Downtown library. I wanted to break into a run and leap towards it, arms outstretched, but since I had a 19 pound baby strapped to my chest and I was hauling a large diaper bag and a heavy library book bag, I realized that this would not be a prudent idea. So I walked excitedly, my flip flops beating the sidewalk to match my pounding heart. 

The entrance to the Children's Area.

It was big. The first floor had several computers, a fiction section for adults, young adult books, reference desks, and a large Children's Area with decorations and books upon books upon books. After gawking at all of the books, I walked up the staircase to the second floor, where there were-you guessed it-more books! Bookshelf after bookshelf of nonfiction greeted my eyes. A small-ish DVD section stood close to a decorated display that highlighted "thriller" movies. The librarian at the reference desk was very kind, and I spoke with her a couple minutes.

One small part of the Children's Area

Then, I slipped over to the cookbook section and one of the titles jumped out at me from the shelf: Cooking with Jane Austen,by Kirstin Olsen. WHAT?!?!?!?! I was already enjoying the Downtown library, but that book about Austen just confirmed how great it was. After snagging this book, I took the elevator (which was delightful and had very shiny walls) and hauled my heavy bag of books up the sidewalk and back to the car. 

The exciting elevator!

After taking a deep breath from the walk (why did I check out so many books when I knew I'd have to carry them back to the car???), I drove south a few miles to the Capitol Hill library.

I had never heard about this library from other people, and had no idea what to expect. I pulled into the parking lot and my eyes looked over the library. It seemed very unassuming, and I was really curious to see what it was like inside. When I walked in, my first thought was: I feel like I'm in a wondrous warehouse of books. The ceiling was high and the room was very simple. While the area of the floor did not seem very large, and there weren't a tremendous amount of bookshelves, the library still felt big because the ceiling was so high, which I thought was really cool. There was a small Children's Area, and there were several computers for adults to use. There was a really nice-looking display (with twinkly lights!) about the history of South Oklahoma City, which I thought was a neat way to add character to a rather simple-looking interior. One of the prominent features I noticed was that a large fraction of the books the library had were in Spanish. So, if there is anyone who wants to improve his or her Spanish with literature, I highly recommend visiting the Capitol Hill library!

There were some tables and chairs around the perimeter for
study and work, which I thought was nice. 

On a final note, I discovered-thanks to a helpful librarian at another library-that the building I visited is a temporary location, and used to be a gym. I was told that within a year, the new location should be finished, which is really cool! New libraries are awesome! 

My Thoughts on These Experiences:

I enjoyed getting to see both of these libraries, and found them extremely different from each other-and from other libraries that I have visited! The Downtown location was, as I said, larger than any other library in the MLS. The Capitol Hill library was probably similar in size to other locations I have been to, but it felt completely different because I had the sensation of being in a warehouse! Out of these library visits, I think my favorite aspect was the Children's Area in the Downtown location-it was so large and attractive-looking, and brought back good memories from my childhood of visiting the Children's Area at the library I went to (in Salem, OR!).