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indigo_rose99The building is huge and gorgeous, marble everywhere. They examined our bags as we entered.
The first floor seemed curiously devoid of that necessary ingredient -- books-- as we wandered. Up a flight. Vaulted ceilings. Pictures and displays of the past. No books. Up to the third floor. A guarded room for "Wifi." I saw a few books in another room, titled "Reference," but all of the books turned out to be behind a heavily guarded desk.
We asked for a map at a third floor information desk. Evidently only information desks on the first floor carry maps. Not very informative, for such a desk title… So, we went back downstairs, found a manned info desk an I asked, "Where are the books? We went to the first, second and third floor. There seem to be no books!"
"Well, yes." I just gaped at her. What?! I was just being annoying. "The books are downstairs. Seven floors below ground." Ah!
"So I can go downstairs and touch the books, pull them off the shelf, and read them?" There is this book that just came out I am looking for… Now a library probably won’t have it, but I will enjoy the looking.
"No." I went back to gaping at her. “The books below stairs are only for reference professionals to touch.” It was at this point that T bodily dragged my sputtering self away from the information desk.
So there is a building in New York called the “New York Public Library” that HAS NO BOOKS FOR ACTUAL PEOPLE. I consider this the ultimate bibliophile betrayal. I’m still bitter.
The first floor seemed curiously devoid of that necessary ingredient -- books-- as we wandered. Up a flight. Vaulted ceilings. Pictures and displays of the past. No books. Up to the third floor. A guarded room for "Wifi." I saw a few books in another room, titled "Reference," but all of the books turned out to be behind a heavily guarded desk.
We asked for a map at a third floor information desk. Evidently only information desks on the first floor carry maps. Not very informative, for such a desk title… So, we went back downstairs, found a manned info desk an I asked, "Where are the books? We went to the first, second and third floor. There seem to be no books!"
"Well, yes." I just gaped at her. What?! I was just being annoying. "The books are downstairs. Seven floors below ground." Ah!
"So I can go downstairs and touch the books, pull them off the shelf, and read them?" There is this book that just came out I am looking for… Now a library probably won’t have it, but I will enjoy the looking.
"No." I went back to gaping at her. “The books below stairs are only for reference professionals to touch.” It was at this point that T bodily dragged my sputtering self away from the information desk.
So there is a building in New York called the “New York Public Library” that HAS NO BOOKS FOR ACTUAL PEOPLE. I consider this the ultimate bibliophile betrayal. I’m still bitter.
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-08 02:35 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-08 02:36 pm (UTC)Seriously weird, even so.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-10 08:28 pm (UTC)There are no book cases of books for me to wander through. There was no fiction section. All books require that I
(1) look up what I want somewhere, when all of the "somewheres" seemed to be behind guarded and/or locked doors. Really. Locked doors. I have a picture!
(2) talk to an actual human being
This Is Not A Library. Does not count. Libraries are quiet places to commune with the books and get lost among the slightly dusty stacks. If they renamed the building "New York Public Library Museum" I could live with it. I could probably even tolerate "New York Public Reference Library." But this? It was a betrayal and I anticipate being bitter about it for a very long time.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-12 12:00 am (UTC)books are for people to fondle. stacks are for people to browse. delivery by pneumatic tube is for check-cashing at the bank drive-through.