NMRT (New Members Round Table)

Hi there!

I'm so brand new to ALA that I just signed up yesterday. In the interest of starting conversation, I once asked a librarian at my work what his favorite library was. He's been a librarian much longer than I, and his favorite library was a very cool one in Italy.

I am torn between two: the main library in Columbus, Ohio because of my childhood memories browsing it in the early 2000s....or Packard Library at the Columbus College of Art & Design, where I got my bachelor's. I remember learning from so many books there, and without the access to information it provided, I would be a very different person today.

What's your favorite library? If you can't decide, what sets them apart?

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Kristin Bandy
Columbus Metropolitan Library
She/Her/Hers
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Welcome, Kristin! Happy you joined ALA and NMRT! What a great topic, because I think there are two types of librarians- ones that go to libraries in different cities when they go on vacation and those that don't... I'm in the group that does not!

With that being said, I really loved the reading room at the Boston Public Library and when ALA was in Washington, DC I did the open house at the Library of Congress and of course it was amazing! I went to the University of South Florida and that library holds a special place in my heart, as well. 

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Morgan Brickey-Jones
Director of Community Engagement
University of Texas At Arlington
She/Her/Hers
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Hi Kristin! 

I love to visit libraries around the country. The obvious ones are awesome like the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building of the New York Public Library and the Jefferson Building of the Library of Congress. A couple other I've been very impressed by is the Seattle Public Library and the Iowa State Law Library at the Iowa State Capitol. Really gorgeous buildings. 

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Jordon Hensley
Assistant Librarian
New Canaan High School
He/Him/His
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That's a fun question! 

I think my favorite public library is the Edmond Library in Oklahoma, which is part of the Metropolitan Library System. It was one of my childhood libraries and I love going back and seeing that it's flourishing with new technology, updates, and is very well funded. 

From a historical standpoint this past September I was able to visit the Malatestiana library in Cesena, Italy, which is the first public library in Europe. It has been around since the 1400s and still has so much of the original architecture. I thought that was really cool. 

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Caitlin Hulshizer
MLIS Student
chulshiz@syr.edu
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Hi Kristin! I love visiting libraries when I am out and about. I always leave with an idea on something I want to change/do at my own. That being said, while I never went in because it was closed, I am (to this day) very jealous of Lake Geneva Public Library in Lake Geneva, WI. It is situated right beside Lake Geneva with the only thing between the lake and the building being a public beach. It is also basically all windows with steel beams and brink. The lake is beautiful and the town is gorgeous (it is a tourist town).  I have seen some pretty amazing libraries, but this one... I was so upset that I wasn't able to see the inside. 

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Rose Slike
Youth Services Librarian
Clarion Free Library
She/Her/Hers
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Hello Kristin, hopefully you've enjoyed your first 2 weeks with the ALA!

I like a lot of libraries I have visited, and I always make a point to visit any library I come across (especially the big name ones), but I think my favorite was the Library of Trinity College Dublin in Ireland. Even with shelves empty from renovation during our visit, I thought it was a beautiful and huge library worth waiting hours in the rain to see. At the time, they had the Gaia art exhibit (which was my first time seeing that) which lit up the long room and took the focus off the empty shelves, but it paled in comparison to the beautiful busts of the ancient philosophers and the Brian Boru Harp of the high king. It was also pretty amazing to see the Book of Kells in person with the gorgeous artwork (though I wished I could flip to see more than two pages).

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Brandon Rouzaud
Director of Library & Student Services
Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science
He/Him/His
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Hi Kristin! I'm new to ALA as of this week as well. I was a member back in 2011 right after I got my MLS but am only just now coming back to the association. One of my favorite things to do when I travel is visit different libraries. I just got back from Switzerland where I visited the Abbey Library of St. Gall. I love that historic libraries are not just stunning architectural landmarks-they also function as living museums, preserving manuscripts and rare books.

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Kristine Benoit
Operations Coordinator
She/Her/Hers
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