The New Library

Reading a review of Jorge Luis Borges's "Library of Babel" I was reminded of my recent trip to the new Missoula Public Library, which was built directly next to the old Missoula Public Library. The construction of the new library, while in plain view, had an air of secrecy to it and it wasn't until its Grand Opening that the new library finally stepped-out from the shadow of the old one.

Juanita and I have been visiting the hospital a lot lately with post-surgery appointments where we park under St. Pat's Broadway Building and ascend to the fifth floor from the basement in an elevator. It's a very public elevator entrance where a set of glass doors work to dissuade transients, who might be hunkered down, from going up. The elevator entrance at the library struck me much the same way - a fancy-looking glass enclosure with its fanciness working to dissuade smelly bums from entering. And I say smelly jokingly, because I had heard that a highly contested feature of the new library was the public showers. I do not know if the new library actually includes public showers and when I think of the tricks, jumping the shark if you will, a new library needs to pull to remain relevant in today's virtual world it's almost sad. However, being part of downtown comes with a certain wisdom and maybe showers (and Narcan training) are just a sign of the times.

Our business at the library was a personal one, Juanita's mom needed to have a notary sign a couple documents for her and the experience was not without conflict. It seems that everywhere Juanita and I go there is an element of racism that goes on (unbeknownst to white people) and here at the library it's no exception. In this case, the notary began thumbing through the document, glossing it and frankly doing too much. I was looking at a fascinating map of Montana where every section was named (checking on the Dunkleberg section near Hall) when Juanita strolled over, and I asked how it went. The guy's getting his manager she said, and I laughed a little to myself. Here in the land of academia people are still ignorant and this notary learned a little something - his job as a notary is to witness the signature of a person who has presented sufficient identification to him and not to delve into the specifics of the document. This is basic courtesy.

Ultimately, a more compassionate and knowledgeable notary helped us out and saved the new library from total embarrassment. In summation, I would say the new library is conscious of cleanliness, but hey, they can only do so much.