What would your ideal public library look like?

My public library is cute, but it needs to be bigger.

If I had my way, it would be the biggest building in town. Inside would be broken into sections.

Kids': Lots of picture and small chapter books. There would be little computer desks with Magic School Bus games and such. There would be pinata-shaped chairs for sitting and playing upon. There would not be a fussy old lady telling the children to hush, but a nice lady who is willing to read and help. There would be a little "jungle" in there, because that's fun.

That section between kids' and teens': Lot's of fantasy books like Harry Potter and The Chronicles or Narnia. At this point, influencing imagination and character is more important than high-brow literature What did the phrase "high-brow" even come from, I wonder.), so there would be Eragon and other things. Roald Dahl is a given. There would be beanbag chairs and big high stools.

Teens': I'm not sure which books I would put here. I think that I would put it conveniently between the second section and adult so that no one would feel restricted to one section, depending on their reading interests. I know that I like to wander between the two sections, and I hate feeling out of place in the library.

Adults': I think that I'd have a huge wall of classics, a huge wall of popular modern books, and a huge wall of little-known treasures. Here, the bookshelves would reach from floor to ceiling, and I'd have some of those neat sliding ladders. Lots of big cushy velvet chairs and couches in a lounge area; people would be allowed to sit how they want. There would be music playing everywhere, but I know some people can only read in silence, so they could have Bose headphones if they wanted. (There might even be an open bar of sorts-- there is at my library now.)

In my library, you would be allowed to talk and make a mess if you wanted, as long as you didn't damage or disrupt anything or anyone. It would be comfortably warm, messy, and loud, but not too much. Everyone could check out as many books as they wanted, I would always have the books they wanted, and nobody would be afraid to ask for help. It would be open at all hours, except for some holidays.

It would be a great library, if you ask me.

One thing you can still do, if you have the animal authorities notified, is to contact a local TV station and have it put on the news as a human interest story. Hopefully someone will find and catch her and bring her home so you can return her to your niece. You can also spend a lot of time praying. If you don't have a cell phone, stay near a phone if the authorities are looking for her. If you have a photo, you may be able to post fliers for "Lost Dog". It's really sad that she's and 'escape artist'. I don't know if she's that way with your niece, or if she's just skittish with you. If you do any looking, remember that having a really tasty treat in hand can be very helpful. You sound like you needed information from your niece that you didn't think to ask, and she didn't think to give. When you take someone else's dog to the dog park, you must know if the dog has any traits, like tending to escape, or not coming when called. If you were acting nervous and running or chasing her down, that would account for her running away when you got close to her. Dogs are very sensitive to our emotional tension and Italian Greyhounds are nervous, sensitive dogs. I'll pray that you recover the dog, as it's really impossible to just "replace" a dog. You have to inform your niece of what happened, and be prepared for any emotional outburst she may have. You may want to go with your niece to places where you came close to the dog, so your niece can try to call her dog to her. You didn't say if this was a new dog for your niece, or if it was a puppy, or what age it was. These factors make a difference in how the dog responds. WE cannot tell you an ideal replacement. Only your niece can do that. And the dog (this one or any replacement) needs to go through training so it learns to come, sit, stay, etc. on command. Good Luck. I hope you find her dog. -!-

Hmm, I based my design on speed and effectiveness :).

Firstly, some nice benches outside covered by some sort of roof. On nice days they can be a good place to read, and if it is too hot they also provide some shade.

Then, just as your entering, maybe a long hallway with various rooms used for cleaning supplies, bathrooms, etc?

After that, I want the desks up front just because it is so convenient. Maybe a child's room filled with kid books, puppets (when someone is reading to them they can use the puppets as visuals), etc. Then, just long shelves well organized (Dewey Decimal System for nonfiction and our boring alphabetical system for fiction), with things like magazines, manga, etc in the lounge at the back, which has comfortable sofas and chairs all while viewing out a windows affixed above a good view (lake, for example).

As for computers, maybe one or two near the desk so people can search for books and a computer lab in another side room.

In this book I recently read, Beauty by Robin McKinley, the main character goes to a castle that has a humongous library containing every great book that had ever been written and some that haven't (but will be written in the future).

That's what I want.

♥M♥

I like my library. It has a nice selection and the children's room is really cute. However, I'd love there to be a nice comfortable place to sit and read. Also, the way a lot of the books are ordered is a bit confusing.

Huge, tall ceilings, almost like a cathedral, but with wood paneling. Lots of chairs and sofas to lounge in, some private coves to study in or read in peace. Books of every genre included, though I'd like to see Tolkien's collection in a special and holy place.

My ideal public library would let me keep the books I checked out, once I became attached to them.

It should look like any one of the Christchurch libraries.

Really big. New books all the time. Any genre imaginable. Book requests, 20 book loan limit, 1 month loan time, computers, self checkout counters, helpful staff, free book reservations, lots of couches, lots of beanbags, lots of tables, TVs to preview DVDs, headphones to preview CDs...

Ahh... good times :D

This:

http://www.aia.org/aiarchitect/thisweek08/0111/011...

It's the Syosset Public Library (the one where I go to). It's really good

it would have to be enormus and have the best knowalagably libryans available,access to all news paper accounts of any event that ever happened and on computer so its easy to access and a really good smoking area.....also no late fees...just burn the books on a cd and keep it at home forever p.s. all known books available