Seattle Public Library

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Great Architecture

We had a really interesting if somewhat strange visit to the Seattle Public library. The library is an iconic building of architectural note. It is popular and attracts a lot of visitors. It is one of those buildings that demands a strong reaction and I expect there are aspects of it that some people love that others hate.

Unfortunately the nature of the visit we were offered meant we learnt very little about how the service is delivered. We did not meet a single person who was involved in running the service. Our observation of front line customer service was not favourable although that could have just been the person on duty at the time of our visit. Seemed to me that Seattle Public library may need to think about how welcoming it is to its local community. However, I have very similar feelings about my own service.

The rules and regulations are telling. No staring or lurking. Some of the furniture had clearly been chosen to discourage certain Seattle residents from getting too comfortable shall we say. However, there were many things I liked and a lot of things that have made me think about the environment we provide and the service we offer at QM.

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Comments

[Owen Stephens]

A real shame that you weren't able to meet those running the service. Those rules look pretty strict - no moving the furniture (which is exactly the opposite of what the type of 'social learning' space we are developing in UK HE is meant to encourage)

[Richard Baker]

Rules & Regulations
I can't see anything wrong with these rules - they could be adapted for use at home and displayed on our front door.