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I nearly didn't go. I was lazy and comfortable and thought i might not go out to see the library after all but really, there was no excuse so i put on my coat and went. The weather wasn't even too cold or icky, quite nice for this time of year, actually. The new library is really beautiful, I think. I've been watching it go up and taking photos of it as it was constructed and I was excited to see the inside. It was pretty busy but I was talking to one of the staff and she said there were over a thousand in there that morning when they opened the doors. I figured as much which is why i went later in the afternoon. My other reason was so that I could take photos of the exterior at night when it was lit up inside. Beautiful!

There are five floors. The top floor looks like an afterthought, smaller and hitched on at an angle but when you look at the whole building, there are other corners and angles and it's meant to look like a stack of books. The overhanging angled bit on top is mainly public space. There's a group of comfy chairs in the front section with great views over the city and a cafe in the back section. I can't remember if there are any books at all on that level. Something tells me no. there's also a "green" roof garden and you can go outside on a little deck that faces the harbour. Nice touch.

There are a couple of small theatre spaces for performances, several specialized sections such as the First Nations' Circle with resources and the African Nova Scotian section and a glass walled room for local NS history. Nice touches. The main floor seems to be a bit of everything as far as books go. Kind of like various shelves of new releases and top picks for a wide variety of categories from children to fiction and non-fiction, travel, biographies. There is a cafe on the ground floor as well and a big information desk. There are self checkout stations and computer stations where you can search the catalogue. I think there's free wifi but i didn't test it out. They also have small booths on one floor for study with electrical outlets for laptops. There are a few places that have comfy seating all over. The main colour scheme is white with accents and furniture in orange and green. Some of the bookshelves are white and many are black. The big feature of the building is that all the floors are open, that is, from the ground in the centre you can look straight up to the top floor. All the floors circle around the centre open area and there are walkways that cross the open spaces and stairs to the next floor down which lead on an angle. Three elevators, of course, because you have to have mobility access. Lots of toilets. Lots of natural light. They mean for it to be more than just books, that it should be a gathering place for the community as well.

Here are the photos I took yesterday.



86 - The Shining - Stephen King
I've read a number of early King books but i never did read this one or see the movie. Graham just finished Doctor Sleep which was a sequel to The Shining so i thought i would read Shining and then the newer one. It was pretty good, typical King. I lost interest in his books after Needful Things and have only got back to him in the last couple of years since 22-11-63 which was excellent.
87 - Dead Man's Time - Peter James
Next installment about Inspector Roy Grace solving a murder that has ties back to the New York Irish gangs from the 1930s and with the world of antiques. Old enemies hover around the edges of the story.
88 - All My Puny Sorrows - Miriam Toews
A really good book but a very emotional one to read. It's about two sisters, one a writer and one a talented pianist. The pianist, Elf, has tried multiple times to kill herself and her sister, Yoli, is trying to find a way to give her sister reasons to live. As you can imagine it's kind of gut wrenching at times, but with some dark humour as well. Really well written. End of it drags out a bit long.
89 - Descent - Tim Johnston (no relation)
This was a book I got for free from Librarything for a review. Starts off with a brother and sister in their teens going for a run/bike ride in the mountans near where their family is having a vacation. The sister gets abducted and the brother is injured. She disappears without a trace and the effect of it on the family is devastating over the next couple of years. It's a story of survival and of families and it's very good.
90 - The Wreckage - Michael Crummey
Starts during WWII in remote Newfoundland when a man who travels around the outport communities with a friend showing films falls for a girl in one of the villages. The story jumps around a bit from a Japanese prison camp back to Newfoundland and back again as the story goes on.
91 - Blood, Sweat and Tea - Tom Reynolds
Long time LJ users may remember the blog of the London Ambulance driver. He used to post here and he turned his blog into a book. I've had it on my hard drive for years and only just now got to it! Gives a very good idea what it's like to work in emergency services.
92 - Norman Bates with a Briefcase - Glenda Young
short novella about the rise and fall of Richard Hillman, Coronation Street's most notorious killer!
93- The Revival - Stephen King
Got it for 15 dollars at the bookstore on "Black Friday". Another good one, not as intense as some of his books. Follows the life of a young man who encounters a charismatic preacher. Their lives cross several times over the years. The preacher experiences a great loss and spends most of his life working with electricity in a mysterious quest which ends up having quite dark results. The boy/man has a part to play in this but thinks their paths are crossing by coincidence.

Comments

[ephemera.livejournal.com]

That looks and sounds like a fantastic new Library!