Have you ever heard of anyone stealing a whole library building? Well it happened in Columbus, Ohio. There is a lovely looking building right downtown along the banks of the Scioto River. There are winding streets, lovely landscaping and that gorgeous building. The Ohio State Library.
 |
| Former home of the Ohio State Library Now home to the Ohio Supreme Court |
I was anxious to see what it looked like on the inside. In the days before GPS I had a wonderful map program on my notebook computer. It had guided me to the correct spot where it said the State Library should have been. But I could not find the Library anywhere. A helpful man in an expensive suit who was leaving the building told me it had moved. I soon discovered the Library building had been stolen. Perhaps hijacked is a more accurate description of what happened. The building now housed the Ohio Supreme Court.
Ok so they didn't really steal the state library building, which, by the way, was actually named The Ohio Departments Building. (But the idea of high jacking still lingers in the back of my mind) Whatever happened, the library is no longer housed in that lovely building.
Where did they move it? What kind of wonderful new facility had been provided for the Ohio State Library? Visions of a new building with state of the art technology and architecture raced through my mind as I called the library to ask how to find their new location. They had been relocated just a few miles north, out of the downtown congestion.
 |
| Factory buildings across the street from the Ohio State Library. |
As I drove to the new location I became aware of the neighborhood and decided locking my car doors was wise. Eventually turning off the main street onto a side street I was puzzled to see I was driving into an abandoned industrial site.
 |
| Main Entrance to the Library |
Then I saw the sign for the Ohio State Library. Yes, it was relocated from a lovely downtown building to an abandoned industrial site where the Jeffrey Mining Company had made mining equipment. No it was not a fancy office building. They put the Ohio State library in a huge old deserted factory building. The high arched roof looked like it was forty or fifty feet above the factory floor.
How could that have happened. Rejecting the notion of the Supreme court having more political power than the library I just knew the Library had moved. When I pulled into the parking lot and saw the entrance I was underwhelmed.
 |
| This nice door mat greets you as you enter. |
But once inside I was delighted. The interior camouflaged the factory setting well. The staff was wonderful, the organization permitted finding what you wanted easily, and the genealogy collection was spectacular.
If a library is simply a pretty building this one missed the mark, but if a library is about finding information and helpful staff this library excelled.
The library staff was just wonderful, helpful, friendly, warm and easy to deal with in an almost family atmosphere. I spent the greater part of three days in this comfortable research center. There was a large open area with tables where we ate our brown bag lunch everyday.
 |
| The "Great Room" |
The picture above shows the huge arched roof. The bright white line across the center of the picture are the flourescent lights over the genealogy area. Look closely in the upper right dark area of the picture and you can see the beams angling up to the roofline. The whole ceiling has been painted a flat black to hide it and the lighting and functional furniture distract from how immense this structure really is. They have done a good job of taking a lemon and making lemonade. As you can see in the picture above the genealogy section is very large and contains information from almost every county in Ohio. In three days I did not run out of material, just time. I recall hearing that now the genealogy section has been moved to another library because there was no money in the state Library's budget for maintaining the collection. If that is true, it is tragic. I could call it a crime but that would mean the Supreme Court might get involved again and we know how that worked out last time. (No offense intended..just a little political humor)
 |
| Typical long row of books in the Genealogy "Stacks" |
Working in the "stacks" was an absolute delight. So much material, easily accessed and arranged in such a logical and orderly fashion. You may wonder what is so special about orderly and logical when it comes to libraries. Isn't that how they are supposed to be? Well, yes, but I have been in some where most of my time was learning how the library was organized, where they had shelved things and how to use whatever indexing and retrieval system they had. Wherever these books are now I hope they are as easy to use as they were in the State Library.
The lady sitting on the floor is my wife. She had found a collection of Who's Who. She had received  |
| "I can't find my name in any of thesebooks" |
As I mentioned earlier the library did a great job of turning an old factory building into a functioning and comfortable place to do research. This is one of the spacious areas I found in this library. Notice the checkout desk in the background. This attractive room does not look like it is in an old manufacturing plant, but it is.
 |
| "I don't think this was in my job description" |
And finally I want to express my appreciation to the staff. They were fun people. They were helpful without being in the way. They made suggestions that saved me wasted time. They even agreed to pose with me for a picture. Now that is really going above and beyond the call of duty. If you read this and find some factual errors please contact me. The comments made here have been my own making. I never heard a word of complaint from the fine people who worked hard to make my visit both successful and enjoyable. Thanks.
Check my blog every week for more pictures of Libraries small and great.
No comments:
Post a Comment