Before we dive into the current flurry of the form vs. function debate regarding our Rem Koolhaas designed Central Library lets step back and take a look at the big picture.The library is one of the many gifts of The 'Libraries For All' 1998 bond measure that passed by the largest margin of victory for a bond measure in Seattle history.Seattle got a new Koolhaas designed Central Library, 5 other new branches and improvements to all 22 existing branches in Seattle.The impact on our city has been profound:-library usership is up citywide- the Central Library has become a top tier...
The Roethke Pool
“There are those to whom place is unimportant, / But this place, where sea and fresh water meet, / Is important. . . . ”from “The Rose” which he read to an enthusiastic audience at the Seattle World’s Fair in 1962Theodore Roethke is arguably the greatest poet to have spent a significant amount of time living in Seattle. His years teaching at the University of Washington (1947 until his death in 1963) put the region on the literary map. "The sixteen years of Roethke’s residence in Seattle changed the region’s literary maturity and taste."He is to the Northwest School of...
The Book Designs of John D. Berry
For over 25 years John Berry has been designing books, editing books and writing about typography.He was house designer for Copper Canyon Press in the early 1990s, and more recently has both edited and designed several books for Mark Batty Publisher, including U&lc: influencing design & typography. John Berry is also one of the foremost writers on typography and design. His first two Dot-font books are selections from the essays he has been writing for the last seven years in his “dot-font” column for Creativepro.com. In these direct, colloquial essays, he turns a critical eye on the role of design...
The Green Lake Poet
Sure sounds better than the Green River Killer.This is a poet on mission. Every Sunday Amy Allin sets up shop at Green Lake, a heavily trafficked man-made lake in North Seattle. She puts out a little table marked with big glass letters spelling out "P-O-E-T" and reads poetry to anyone in earshot. She began her quest in July and has been there every Sunday since. Her goal is to be there for 1 year. Allin doesn't own a car and walks four miles each way to Green Lake to perform her public service.Allin says: "If the world is run for...
March of the Librarians: A Video Tribute to ALA Meeting in Seattle
"Didn't you wonder where your librarians disappeared to last January? Ten thousand of them were in Seattle for an American Library Association convention, and I was there to capture the bizarre congregation on video." nnicckHysterical rendition of the meeting. Good Seattle footage. An instant YouTube biblio-classic.P.S. you can insert any trade show and it works.Thanks to Jeremy from PhiloBiblos for the lead