I hope whatever changes happen, the city and Lincoln City Libraries remember that those of us that work and live near downtown like libraries too.

I think that a combined humanities and library would be a very interesting idea worth pursuing. The problem however is that it doesn’t gel with the 2015 plan if their idea is to place the humanities center in the haymarket. That would remove the main library (if paired with haymarket humanities center) from its main consumer base of downtown office workers and the nearby residential areas. I go to the downtown branch probably every day, because I work in downtown, but I doubt I would do that if it involved a hike all the way up to the haymarket. Not impossible, but still a bit of a jaunt. That is a serious impediment to the entire vision really - the fact that the haymarket is in some ways so removed from the rest of the city.

Anyway, that is a whole other issue. Getting back to the library, if they are going to combine the two, I would think they would have to do it in downtown somewhere. I know Pershing has been mentioned as a suitable location. I would actually like to see it another block or two south, closer to some of the near south residential areas. It would still be accessible to the downtown office crowd, and be easier to access for the near south residents. But that means then that the proposed “humanities and arts corridor” would also be downtown, if that comes along according to the plan. So things get murkier and murkier. I for one, think that such an arts corridor would be great a bit south of downtown. You’ve got an ethnically diverse community, lots of students, etc.. The vision 2015 plan is too darn haymarket-centric.

It seems to me that they have made a conscious choice to make the downtown branch principally an administrative hub for library staff, and not for consumers. The consumers they do want to cater to are obviously the office workers (hence the willingness to close hours in the evening). If that is what the library board’s vision is for the branch, then it makes sense to leave the place as the shambles that it is. After all, office workers like me are in and out in 15 minutes. We don�t hang out there for extended periods, or bring our kids there (have you compared the size of the kids section at Gere with that of the joke at Bennet Martin?). The problem of course is that that vision kind of sucks. I consider a library a community asset first. Make it a true resource for the community in that area.

I think your observation is cynical, but true, and I share it. Outside of the transitory daytime office worker population, the main branch’s consumer base is the (generally) low income population in near south and so on. When you look at the shape of the main library - and the neighborhood it is in - and then look at the outer branches and the neighborhoods they cater to, you kind of come to some sad conclusions about our library system. I.E. crappy branch for the poor brown people and nice branches for the rich white ones. Like I said, it might be an unfair and overly simple conclusion, but that is the perception.