Disgusted with library's architecture
I have watched, visited and used the new library since it opened. My first thought was: what was the designer of the building thinking? Some kind of a Frank Lloyd Wright award here?
I never, in my worst nightmare, anticipated what the new library would look like, let alone what I would feel when I walked in for the first time.
Disgusted ... That's what I felt along with betrayal, by the person or group that approved the design of this pathetic building. This structure is so antiseptic and cold it suggests what one might feel in a mortuary, scientific lab or a memorial honoring dead people.
I have since transferred my online book order and personal library visits to the Gilroy library. At least there, you feel like you are in a library... I also suggest that south county residents drive to San Jose and visit the San Jose Edenvale library to see how new libraries should be built. Specifically ask for a guided tour that includes the: coffee break area for laptop users, the teen section, the digitally controlled fire place (yes they have one). The overall warm feeling that you get in this premier library is that you are in a very comfortable place, similar to your own home or a close friend's house.
& Dear Library-disgusted: Melinda Cervantes, county librarian, said that many people in the community are proud of the new Morgan Hill Library. Cervantes reports that she hears comments every day from patrons who tell her how beautiful they think the building is and how much better it meets the community's needs. This also seems reflected in how much more the community is using the library. During the first six months of operation in the new building, circulation is up 30 percent and 84 percent more people are requesting library cards. Approximately 1,200 to 1,600 people a day use the facility.
In addition to beautiful public art inside and out, the increased size of the building has allowed service improvements such as twice the number of computers, faster check-in of returned items via a new automated materials handling system, more programs in a larger program room, study tables with electrical outlets so patrons can more conveniently use wireless Internet with their laptops, displays throughout the building, and much more.
Cervantes also indicated that during the years that the Morgan Hill Library was being designed, there were numerous opportunities for public involvement. Many of the features are a result of that public input: the high ceilings, views of El Toro, and ample seating and study spaces, for example. Not every piece of architecture is to everyone's taste, of course, but the overwhelming response to the library has been positive.
Caller, if you would like to send your formal complaint to Cervantes, e-mail her at Melinda.cervantes@lib.sccgov.org, or call her at (408) 293-2326, ext. 3001. You may also contact Sarah Flowers, deputy county librarian at Sarah.flowers@lib.sccgov.org and at (408) 293-2326, ext. 3002.
Weird library design
Who designed the Morgan Hill Library? Where our city leaders blind when they approved the design of this ugly building. Service is great, but who were the architects?
& Dear library architecture observer: Noll & Tam Architects, based in Berkeley, designed the library.
Christopher Noll said he's delighted that the design of the new building has received an overwhelming amount of positive feedback. The library's popularity also speaks for itself: circulation is up 30 percent, there are 24 percent more new visitors and the library has issued 80 percent more library cards in the past six months.
The building's design reflects the desires of the many community members involved in the design process, Noll said. Working with them, he focused on a number of design priorities: creating a welcoming presence, maximizing views, especially to El Toro, providing lots of natural daylighting, creating scaled reading rooms, incorporating public art, and using warm colors and materials.
