Individual Post 1: The Library - Kurt Moore

The Salt Lake City Library is a lovely building. It is an immense, crescent-shaped structure which appears both architecturally complex and aesthetically pleasing. It is an extremely modern looking building, especially considering its juxtaposition next to the historic City County building. The different stylistic elements the building possesses are the first things I noticed about the building, and they combine beautifully. The library is right in the heart of what most outsiders like me consider Salt Lake City (East of I-15 and North of 13th South) just a few blocks East of the Gateway and South of the capital. The area, at least to an outsider like me, seems to be the heart of Utah’s fine capital. I was surprised, then, at some of the things I observed in and around the Library. First, and perhaps most surprising, was the woman who took our group photo for us. She was most undeniably a hipster, pit hair and all. I guess I wasn’t really expecting that just blocks away from the financial and LDS districts of the city. Once I entered the building, I found that this woman was not the exception. Inside were many people with their shoes placed neatly next to their chairs as they read, and there were many bikes occupying slots on the bike rack outside. I also observed many people getting off of trax and entering the library. All of these characteristic are mu

ch more typical of liberal political and cultural attitudes then I was used to, coming from a very conservative northern city as I have, and at the time of this walkabout I was a tad taken aback. I had assumed, incorrectly, that Salt Lake must be even more conservative then my hometown, and was quickly corrected by the clientele of the city Library.

The use of the library is fairly obvious: you check out books. The SLC Library, though, seemed to go above and beyond this normal call of duty. Upon entering the space, I was greeted

by a grand entryway. The ceiling seems hundreds of feet above the heads of those entering the library, and in this introductory corridor there were about a dozen cute little shops and an immense wall filled with study rooms. A particular section of interest to me was the children’s section. Here there were not only children’s books, but computers, play areas, artwork. It seemed to be the perfect place for a parent to lose their child for a while. The SLC Library is a multifunctional space, and far beyond checking about books, patrons can get online, shop, and enjoy beautiful architecture and scenery. Thus, human interaction with the space itself was great. Interpersonal interaction was somewhat lacking, though. This is to be expected, however, since the library is not exactly a social place. Culturally speaking, as Americans we seem to label libraries as quiet, isolated spaces (an elderly shushing librarian comes to mind).

There are a few Image of the City ideas that apply to the SLC Library. Most notable is the

library’s place as a landmark. The structure of the building itself is immense, and the design of the building is unmistakable. The combination of these two factors means that the library is a definite reference point for navigation because it is easy to spot and distinguish. Also important is the Library’s place on one of the main paths of SLC. The Library sits just about right in the middle of 4th south. This street cuts right through what outsiders consider SLC, and leads up to one of SLC’s main residents: the University of Utah. I’ll also point out that the combination of the Library and the City County building make for a sort of “public district” of city-owned building.