Teal and Shiny

I am beginning to think I should have specific criteria I look for in these liblogaries so my posts can be fairly consistent. The character quality of Structure is burning a hole through my life-long lesson book. 

Let’s start with the name.

PAUL W. & BERNICE P. BRANDEL LIBRARY

The Brandel Library was built in 2000 after Bernice Brandel gave a substantial donation in memory of her late husband. They were lifelong friends, co-workers for 30 years, and married for 11 years. Personally, I admire her words which are on a platinum plaque inside the lobby. They read, “One of the most important things that can happen to a person is that desire to keep learning. That is why it is important to have a good library. I know that North Park needs a good library, so I would like it to be an excellent one with lots and lots of good books.” A woman after my own heart. The Brandel Library is actually located within North Park University, a Christian Liberal Arts university with a Theological Seminary. Remember I said I would hit up multiple types of libraries? I would like my next one to be some sort of medical library. 

One of the best traits about this library is its strength at being very random in its book collection. For some strange reason, I feel this library appeals to me at a creative level. Yeah, the building is too new for my taste; however, I do feel link with its contents and choice of wall color—teal.

When I first walked into this building, I tip-toed among my friends—books. Books can be everyone’s friends. Duh. Well, I walked down the first aisle and noticed something that looked like a friendly face, yet, horrifying—The Bible. 

Kinda looks like the Bible from Children of the Corn.

The reason why I was dazed and slightly befuddled at the sight of one of the most sacred items in the history of religion, was because of its ambiance. Bear with me. As I walked by the Bible section, the only Bible I noticed was a black one with the words, “The Bible—A New Translation by James Moffatt.” Who the ash tray is Jimmy McFatty? Then I took it off of the shelf, placed it on a nearby table, sat down, and opened it. For a split second I thought the screaming outline of a face was going to leap out at me and bite me on the nose. But I just saw a rather long Introduction and a squished bug in the middle of Geneses as I flipped through the book—in fact, as I looked at it more closely, I could have probably deduced that it was a booger. James Moffatt stated in his Introduction, “The translation now offered of this text is an attempt to represent the gains of recent research and at the same time to be readable.” Bravo and kudos for translating another Bible only marketable to the Amish community. 

I also noticed another book that jumped out at me—not literally. The other book you see in the picture is a Concordance. The reason why I included it in the picture is because I simply thought it looked the most beautiful on the shelf. 

 

There are 3 floors and the second and third floors contain the “General Collection” section. I am guessing that they are arranged by subject. I am in an aisle with the main call number starting with the letter ‘P’. I love this aisle because of the random titles that would catch the glass eye of an old Pirate:

I love all of these books.

The Sacred and Profane Love Machine—Iris Murdoch

Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man—Seigfreid Sassoon

The Secret Agent—Joseph Conrad

The Famished Road—Ben Okri

The Unicorn—Virginia Moore

And then, there are works with familiar titles and authors:

The Silver Chair—C. S. Lewis

Brideshed Revisited—Evelyn Waugh

The Canterville Ghost—Oscar Wilde

Finnegan’s Wake—James Joyce

The 'P' aisle.

 I can picture myself sitting in these aisles for hours, reading about the man with the gun, that really hungry road, the chair that Vampires cannot sit on, and that sacred and profane love machine. 

 

The loft-style ceiling on the third floor.

 When I went to the third floor, I could not help but think about a barn hay loft. In the picture you can notice the loft-style ceiling. I was really fascinated with this feature because the area produced a constant white noise which is key when trying to study. Most times one can hear people shuffling around, talking, or listening to their iPods. It can get distracting. So in this liblogary, if you wanted to study, do it on the third floor. 

Overall, I am impressed with this liblogary. The collection of books is not too shabby, the decor matches my second favorite color (my first is shiny), and I did not see but two people, so I cannot say much about the crowd. 

The backs of books always fascinate me.

You know when you go to a building and you think the decor is somewhat dated? Then you find out that it was built in the 1970s. At that time, it once was a place that screamed new features, decor, and quality. Not, it seems dated and in a desperate need for upgrading. Well, what about when you go into a building and even though it is over a hundred years old, it looks exquisite. I think one of the main reasons why we think places like that look exquisite is because of the detail--back then, were not people obsessed on putting detail into what they built? This liblogary might be one of those places in thirty years that we say, "This place lacks character and looks dated." That is the only thing I find wrong with this liblogary.

8/10--congratulations! Hope to see you again~