A Book-Addict's Paradise

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be some kind of library.” — Jorge Luis Borges

My favorite place in Fort Wayne is the downtown library. You can see some pictures of it here. Near the entrance, there is a giant globe taller than anyone I know. It constantly rotates in circles. It has been a source of wonderment since I was a child. The rest of the library spreads out from there, starting with the check out desk, return slot, and the book holding area.

What else is great about this library? Wide, open spaces, shelves and shelves of books (a room where the adult fiction and non-fiction shelves go around the edges of the room and eventually meet), plenty of available sitting, tons of computers, a coffee shop, a small art gallery, and again, the books. Basically, it is a beautifully crafted warehouse for books.

There are also different rooms for reading, like the Silent Reading Room. I haven't been in there yet, but I always forget where it is. I could get lost in this library. In fact, I'm hoping to spend more time there over the summer when I go home.

Did I mention that there's an upstairs? The Main Library has fantastic records and whatever you need to trace your family located upstairs. There are three other sections upstairs, the technology and business section (more nonfiction), teen fiction, and the art, music, and media section. From upstairs, you can peer down and watch people on the ground floor. There are also cases with different items in them. For awhile, they were full of Harry Potter Items.

The final perk? It has free parking, if you have a library card there.

This library is my kind of paradise. Because of it, I will probably make sure the cities that I live in during my lifetime have a comparable library. It will always give me a reason to return to Fort Wayne.