Is the Salem Public Library really a "charmless concrete bunker"?

I disagreed with a lot of what was said in a Salem Breakfast on Bikes post, "How much worse would a Marion Parkade Library actually be?"

The post refers to a proposal by City officials to seriously consider making the current library into a police facility, and moving the library to some other location.

What rubbed me the most the wrong was a repeated Breakfast on Bikes mention of the library being a "charmless concrete bunker."

Well, for comparision here's a genuine charmless concrete bunker -- the Marion Parkade parking structure that City officials have said could be the new library location. Not the whole Parkade, just the ground floor.

I admit to being a library romantic.

My bookaholic mother instilled me in a love for all things bookish. I grew up in a small town, Three Rivers, California, which for a while didn't have an actual library. However, two women made their homes into community libraries.

I remember my mother driving up to their houses. We'd get out of the car, knock on the door, and be admitted into a wonderfully quaint collection of books scattered through rooms in the house. Eventually Three Rivers did have an actual library, but it wasn't as charming as the home-based versions.

This evening I stopped by the Salem Public Library to take some photos. The library is closed on Monday, so I couldn't go inside. This wasn't necessary, though, to dispel the "charmless concrete bunker" appellation. 

I like the look and feel of the current library.

My wife and I moved here in 1977 when our daughter was five. The library was a big part of her childhood, as well as our lives as parents.

Yes, architectural sensibilities have changed since then. I realize that now the Salem Public Library is cited as an example of "brutalism." I just don't find the outside of the library to be brutal at all.

Rather, it appeals to me. A lot more than the Marion Parkade does. Here are the photos I took today.

This is the view from one of the entrances to the parking structure.

After walking through the structure, I saw the Loucks Auditorium on the left,
a dropoff circle in the middle, and a book return box on the right.

Turning to my left, I enjoyed the greenery library patrons walk by on their way to the entrance.

From the Commercial Street entrance, the aproach to the library doesn't look charmless to me.

Here's the tree'y view of the parking area adjacent to Commercial Street.

I took this photo on the Commercial Street sidewalk, standing in front of the parking structure. Again, the vista strikes me as pleasant, not charmless. Especially compared to the Marion Parkade.

June 23, a week from today, the Salem City Council is going to decide whether to move forward with studying the feasibility of converting the library into a police facility. Check out the Salem Community Vision post about this. 

Lovers of the library will be able to tell the City Council "Hands off our library!" during the public comment period at the beginning of the June 23 council meeting (it starts at 6:30 pm; get there ahead of time to sign up).

Or you can email the City Council and tell them how you feel about the possibility of moving the library to the Marion Parkade and having the current library building be remodeled into a police facility.
mailto:[email protected] 

Comments

[Richard van Pelt]

What you don't mention, and is not mentioned in Breakfast on Bikes, is use and accessibility.

Our library is one of the most used per capita of any library in the nation. It is busy; I've been there waiting for it to open and have counted twenty or thirty people waiting for the doors to open.

Parking downtown is extremely expensive if you have to plug a meter. People go to the library with no particular time limit in mind. Many spend a good portion of their day there. I certainly do when I'm spending hours on microfilm or writing.

The parking structure is close to hand and the meters charge a reduced rate, which encourages use.

I agree with you that "concrete bunker" has negative connotations, which are intended to make the reader think negatively about the library. You cannot call it a bunker once you enter. It is a friendly place that encourages you to do what a library is intended to accomplish - and it does it well.