Botanical Carpet Petra Blaise in Seattle

With your nose close to the floor you get a great scoop of the iron and nylon carpet with botanical theme that graces the 3rd Level Living Room and Level 10 Reading Room.

LEAP at Seattle Central Public Library

LEAP at The Seattle Public Library stands for Library Equal Access Program. LEAP allows patrons who are hearing or vision impaired to have access to all items in the library's collection. 

Access is double easy now that LEAP has relocated (a while back) from Level 3, to Level 1 (Fourth Avenue entrance), no more zigzagging to get where you want to be.

Make a B-line from the front door to LEAP.

Still, here are some zigzagging pointers, so you know what to expect.

• To the left you'll have the elevators
• On your right you'll pass the Welcome Desk, the Check-in-and-out counter
• Again to the left is the entrance to the Microsoft Auditorium and the up-and-down escalators

Judith's Feet - Photo Dean Rutz/The Seattle Times

You'll find yourself on top of Public Art, conceptual artist Ann Hamilton's wooden floor, 7200 square feet of computer routed first sentences in eleven languages. This department is called LEW for Learning English as a Second Language and the World Collection.

• To the left a wall with a comfortable chair or two and display cabinets
• To the right stacks with the World Collection
• Reference librarians have their desk amidst the stacks to the right
• Behind their desk are the carrels for patrons who study English as a Second Language

As you continue your B-line to LEAP, you'll find the SirsiDynix Gallery which leads to the Children's Department. It has a polyurethane floor and a stainless steel wall.

• To your left the old-fashioned pay phones and water fountains
• On the right tables to study or read between the stacks of the World Collection

Past the telephone bay the wall continues and you'll find

• Men's Bathroom
• Women's Bathroom
• Entrance to LEAP 

Every fourth year we need a leap year to keep our Gregorian calendar in alignment with the Earth's revolutions around the sun, at the library LEAP is there for you every day!

This post was published on February 29, 2012 on Judith van Praag's blog Hope Filled Jars

This work by Judith van Praag is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License

Libraries for All

In 1998 the Seattle voters helped pass a bond measure Libraries for All, 196.4 million dollars to renovate 22 existing, and build 5 new branch libraries, as well as to design and build the new Central Library.
Rem Koolhaas co-founder of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture and former Seattleite and then OMA partner Joshua Prince-Ramus were principal designers of the award-winning Central Library building, along with Seattle-based LMN Architects.

On Saturday September 13 the conclusion of the successful 10-year building period will be celebrated in all Seattle Public Libraries.

Rem Koolhaas was scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. in the Microsoft Auditorium, but his presentation has been cancelled.
Here's some old and more recent footage where you can see and hear him speak.

Joshua Prince-Ramus former OMA principle, and since 2006 president and co-founder (with Erez Ella) of REX will present the key note of day-long celebratory presentation in the Microsoft Auditorium (4th Avenue/ 1st floor entrance) at the Seattle Central Library, downtown.

Can't make it?
Read Joshua Prince-Ramus manisfesto or listen to him speak on TED

The presentation is co-sponsored by AIA Seattle.
Admission is free and open to the public.
The Central Library is located at 1000 Fourth Avenue.
For more information, call (206) 386-4636.

The Seattle Public Library Foundation and Friends of The Seattle Public Library ( co-sponsored by USbank) are issuing "passports" with photographs and information on all the libraries in the system. Patrons are encouraged to visit all of them, and if they do, they can collect stamps at each of the branches. Some of those who can show a fully stamped pass in January of 2009 may be eligible for a special gift!

Seattle Central Public Library

The Seattle Central Public Library opened its doors to the public at the end of May 2004.
At the beginning of the following month volunteer library docents started guiding patrons through the building on general (focused on library functions) and architectural tours.
By the end of May 2008, it turned out that during the four years that the library had been open, 34,000 visitors signed up for a hike through the 11-story building (covering 10 floors, since Head Quarters on the 11th floor is off limit for patrons).
This number did not include all the tagalongs and unregistered tours.
The library of OMA and LMN became an important tourist draw, and continues to be part of the itinerary of many people visiting Seattle.