 |
| Photo by Robert Dawson |
But I started to get a little deja vue after a few tours... LEED certified, bright sunny windows, tons of technology, bright colors, flexible public spaces, lovely artwork, sleek furniture...they were almost too perfect...they lacked personality.
Libraries, like any building, can be packed with personality. Remember the phone box in England? How about H.H. Richardson’s cluster of Massachusetts libraries? Or the one in Vermont that used to be a church and a school? Of course you do, because they had distinctive personalities, they were unique. And so is the Tuscarora Branch Library, a combination library/post office in the unincorporated town of Tuscarora, NV.
As I flipped through Robert Dawson’s American Library Project I stopped at the smiling face of the woman, in her post office smock, standing in front of bookshelves piled haphazardly with books. She looked so friendly, ready to chat and help you find your next good read, or even mail your package.
What is personality?
One definition of personality is the characteristics that make us unique; part genetics, part upbringing, part environment - exactly what I’m talking about in context of the library. The new, green libraries are too similar - even though they are all beautiful, they aren’t quirky or unique. But a tiny sheet metal structure in the middle of the desert is unique. And even though it’s minuscule, it still has the powerful effect of opening the world up to its patrons.
Behavior theorists believe that part of our personality comes from our interaction with our environment, this could not be any more apparent than in the libraries in across our country. Libraries are symbols of their communities, they represent the people they serve, usually because those are the people built them.
Wealthy communities build new fancy schmancy libraries and poor communities make due with anything they can get their hands on. It is that simple. The distinction is clear in rural communities but once you move into the city, people and libraries becomes mixed together and the underserved populations benefit from desires of the affluent.
Honestly, I have a hard time relating to some of the thriving suburbs that boast beautiful new libraries, weren’t these communities hit by the recession? Aren’t they struggling with school budgets and unemployment? I can tell you one thing, we are not building any new libraries in Western New York this year, we’ll be lucky to keep the doors open on the ones we have.
Tuscarora Library represents its quirky community, a Nevada ghost town that hit its prime in 1870 when silver was discovered in the mines. Chinese miners actually discovered the silver and when they did the town exploded from 200 to 1,500. In 1878 and 1879 $1 million worth of silver was mined in Tuscarora. During its prime the mines produced $40 million in silver. But the bust came came rapidly and just as dramatically. Tuscarora slowly declined and the mining business turned to brothels and gambling houses, until it eventually it became a ghost town. Talk about some personality!
We are drawn to people and things with personality because they are interesting. They are fun to be around, intriguing and different. If you have ever spent time trapped around a big round table at wedding reception with guests that have no personality you know what I mean.
Do you have personality? Well, of course you do, everyone does, but is it really who you are? Do you relish the things that make you different, or try to fit in with the people you are with? Are you different, or have you been following the rules for so long that you can’t even remember what makes you special?
Tuscarora Branch Library is definitely doing its own thing, for better or for worse, and they’re proud of it. Are you?
No comments:
Post a Comment