When I was a graduate student, at Ohio State, my visits to Thompson Library, the campus' main library, brought about a sense of unease. I kinda like creepy places, but not when I honestly feel like being in said creepy place could put me in real danger. As a social science student, often the books I needed were up in the library's tower. The floor where the sociology book were was without windows so it was dark, dank, and often I was the only person around. When you looked down the rows of books, you could see the sides lined with darkened cages, like the one pictured above. I never saw a single person using one. It was like being in someone's huge basement where a predator could be lurking in the shadows. Fortunately, I never ran into the bogeyman. OSU's library was in stark contrast to the well-lit, clean, more updated library from my undergraduate institution, University of Louisville.
However, now (that I'm no longer a student who needs to use the library), Thompson library reopens after a 3 year, $100 million renovation. I still work on campus though, but on the medical center side. I think I'll take an evening and go sit in the new library to make up for all the time I spent getting to know the spiders and shadows of the old library's stacks.
That is an astonishing contrast AND improvement! I do remember a few dusty, dank corners in my schools, too. You deserve a little quiet time contemplation in that lovely bright new space!
Posted by: willoaksstudio | August 04, 2009 at 12:29 AM
beautiful building. I love libraries, but then again, I AM a librarian by training!
Posted by: storybeader | August 04, 2009 at 11:42 PM