On Wednesday, I deserted the family and spent a glorious day prowling through art galleries and libraries in Melbourne. My last stop was the brand spanking new Library at the Dock, which had only been open to the public for 4 days.
Oh wow, is it ever spectacular.
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| The front facade - you can park your yacht right out front. |
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| The back side - kids playground, a large grassy lawn and behind me is an open plan sports court and outdoor gym available for anyone to use at any time |
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| The automated check-in, just like the one at Emily Carr. The library officer (what they call LAs) I spoke to showed me a technical glitch they had already come across - when the sun shines in the window in the afternoon, it interferes with the sensor and the machine won't work. Thought you might get a kick out of that, Helen! |
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| The gallery space on the second floor - right now it is a local history display but in future, it will be available to local arts groups. |
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| The catalogue kiosks are on the endcaps throughout the collection area - about six per floor. |
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| Yes, this is a ping pong table on astroturf in the library. The library collection can be secured to allow after hours access to this room as well as the performance space, the recording room, several meeting rooms and the outside terrace. |
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| The recording studio available for patrons to rent at an extremely affordable rate. |
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| 3D printer in the third floor Design Lab. The librarian I spoke to was in the process of printing himself a pen holder for his new desk. |
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| Self checks are scattered all over the library on all three floors. Interesting note - every city library I've been to in Western Australia and Victoria has RFID. |
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| The Overdrive Media smart desk. And guess what, Dr. Overdrive? It wasn't working properly. It had been stuck in a loop since day one and you couldn't get past the first 12 titles displayed. Oh, that made me laugh. |
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| Smart floor in the kids section. Kids (or adults) kick the balls around the screen - great for getting wigglies out between storytime books. I wonder how many tantrums it has caused so far. |
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| Graphics on the front door with a beautiful view of the harbour and the Melbourne Star Observation Wheel. |
Well, just flipping WOW. It is a beautiful design for the water's edge~is that wood as an exterior? And wood floors????? I love the endcap catalogues and the self checkouts not just in one area. The recording studio is icing on the cake~what a creative idea to add that to the Library. What is the seating like for patrons? Comfy? The tax base in Melbourne is just a tad different compared to Victoria, right? Just a tad. Thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteA 3D printer? That would totally get me into the library if there was one of those to use!
ReplyDeleteCheese Wiz! If I were you Kate I'd try to get a job at that library and convince my family to stay in Melbourne!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the updates and keep them coming.
Loretta