According to Cicero, "If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need." After we saw the revamped Central Library, we knew what he meant. Downtown's revitalization got a boon when the library opened in April; the building, which used to house the First National Bank, is absolutely gorgeous. Behind the classical exterior, with its brass doors, lies the main hall, with huge pillars, grayish-blue walls and a marbled ceiling with gold accents. The former check-writing stands now hold computers, films are shown in the vaults, art exhibits are showcased in the galleries on the first and second floors, and the fifth-floor rooftop terrace provides a lovely view of downtown. Visitors can wile away hours at the periodical racks, where magazines such as
Paris Match and
Tikkun share shelf space with
Saveur and
People, and comfortable armchairs and window seats provide cozy cocoons for an afternoon of reading. We're also pleased to note that something else had been revamped as well -- the library cards themselves, which have joined the realm of grocery coupon cards by shrinking down to a small rectangle that fits on a keychain. Now if only the library would install a self-checkout machine in every branch, our inner library dork would
really have everything we need.
