My New Old Library

So I've now been to my new local library twice and I have to say I'm a little disappointed. Their selection is fine and I like their online catalog and features, but the actual library is not my favorite. In St. Louis I had two branches of the county library that were pretty close to my house. One was tolerable and the other was quite nice - I would go there to hang out sometimes. And they had a huge selection of books and movies so I always found what I was looking for.

My husband and I went to the city library for the first time a few weeks ago. First, it smelled funny, like a high school gym locker room - kind of musty and rank. Second, they have a fiction section and then a separate science fiction/fantasy section so I had a hard time finding what I was looking for. Granted, this will probably make things easier in the future - I can just go straight to that section instead of slogging through all the fiction. But the one thing I like is that they have self checkout with scanners and computers so you're not waiting on someone to do it for you. Some of those librarians in Missouri were a little slow, bless their hearts.

So on the second trip I was hoping things might be a little better. I walked in knowing where I was going and how it all worked which was good. But as soon as I walked in the door BAM locker room. It was so gross I had to quick about finding my books and checking out so I could get out of there. It's too bad it smells so weird because the building is actually kind of nice and they have a cafe in the back corner that looks quite welcoming. Maybe when they finish up the current construction project they'll figure out why is smells so awful in there.

All in all I'm missing my St. Louis library but it won't keep me from reading!