Juneau Public Library is 20 years old

During the week of March 15-21 there was an article in the Juneau Empire online about the downtown public library celebrating 20 years in its present location atop the parking garage.  (Link to the article: http://juneauempire.com/stories/032009/loc_412540983.shtml)  The garage is right on the waterfront where the cruise ships dock in summer.  It has great views of Gastineau Channel and Douglas Island.  I remember the library’s earlier location in the building that now houses the city museum up on the hilly Main Street and near the governor’s mansion and State Office Building (known locally as the S.O.B).  After that it was in the ground floor of the “Spamcan” building that’s farther down the hill on Main Street.  The article describes how the city was lucky that the opportunity to build on the parking garage arose.  It’s a great location.  To get to the library, you have to take a single elevator up 4-5 floors.  They’re labeled 1, B, C, D, and L.  While ascending the elevator makes a funny buzzing sound at each floor that some have jokingly compared to flatulence.  I once rode up with some English cruise ship officers and one of them jokingly said “excuse me” at each floor.  I hope they haven’t changed the elevator.  I remember going to the library to do research for a debate for tenth grade English.  My debate partner and I were distracted by the view of the sailboats in Gastineau Channel.  And then there were those many times spent sitting in the comfy chairs with views of the channel reading from large selection of magazines.

I’ve been to other public libraries since then: the old downtown Seattle library and its uniquely designed successor; the large Los Angeles Central Library with its homeless patrons, unrivaled collection and availability of books and audiobooks (people in L.A. don’t seem to read as much as those in Seattle, though I think that’s changing).  Juneau has another impressive library at the University of Alaska Southeast (UAS) where I became an expert with microfilm machines.  My wife’s favorite is the public library in Renton, Washington that straddles the Cedar River.  These days, I make do with the Covina Public Library and the Cal State L.A. library.  But with all the libraries I’ve visited and frequented, the Downtown Juneau Library always figures prominently.  Happy 20th Anniversary!