Okay, I’m done. On August 31, driving east along Anapamu Street to deposit Central Library material to the book drop, I find that the book drop opens away from the street, so that I am forced out of the car to walk around the metal box to deposit materials. Amazing. And, why, I ask library staff, has the library not replaced book drop boxes along Anapamu Street? I am told that crossing the street poses a danger to clerks. So, why not install double the number of boxes double the size thereof, to make fewer trips necessary?
How long does it take to build an elevator? The interior construction area has been blocked off by canvas for more than a year now, and how much of the wooden staircase will be sacrificed to this proposed elevator? And was it not possible to rebuild the existing wall-based elevator and save the most attractive part of the interior? I asked staff why do I not hear construction noise when I am inside the building? I am told that work is being done prior to open library hours, which average 10 a.m. during the week, so only a few hours work will be done daily, which insures that it will take three times as long.
You’ve removed most books from the catalog, destroyed the attractiveness of the interior by sacrificing at least a portion of the central staircase to a new elevator, and now you’ve compromised the circulation of materials by making them difficult to return. And there is no end in sight. Sorry, tourists; sorry, downtown merchants.