Houstonist missed the grand reopening of the Houston Public Library Central Branch in early June, but we're OK with that. Who wants to explore a library mobbed with people anyway? Instead, we decided to check out the renovation on a lazy Saturday in mid-July after all the brouhaha settled.
One thing is certain: those new floors sure are bright. We liked the cheeriness of it, though, and overall the Central Branch feels more like a public space than a library now. Or a grocery store. With hand baskets and self checkout stands bleeping audibly, it's not hard to wander down the wide aisles and feel like you're about to check "eggs" and "milk" off your list instead of "Harry Potter".
Aesthetics aside, once we grabbed a basket and delved into the stacks we were giddy with the possibilities. First on our list was the Movies, Audiobooks and Music section, prominently placed on the ground floor. The music section is heavy on the classical and opera, which we don't have a problem with. However, towards the back we found goodies like The Beta Band, the latest release from Yo La Tengo (yoink!), Wu Tang Clan, Sufjan Stevens and Mos Def. The DVDs were stocked with a variety of artsy flicks, Oscar winners and classics, along with the occasional oddity (Survival Tips for Teens From Dysfunctional Families). There was a large selection of foreign films as well, including some Japanese Manga. The Audiobooks section also had something for everyone. We were totally going to check out some Arthur Milller plays and Feynman Lectures on Physics, but then we saw Danielle Steele and decided to go for that instead. We need something to entertain us at the pool this summer. Anyway, the documentary on the Brooklyn Bridge we grabbed cancels that out, no?
We then skipped through the foreign language section, where there are at least 19 languages represented, and came upon the computer area...whoa. There were easily 65 PCs at workstations, and only about half were occupied. We didn't see any time limit being imposed, and it's not like it would be noticed if one were to park it at a workstation like a little old lady at a slot machine. There were plenty of computers to go around.
Next it was on to the second floor, where most of the non-fiction is shelved. We browsed through the stacks and dropped a few books on 20th century fashion and art into our basket. Pretentious? Maybe, but the pictures were so pretty we couldn't resist.
On the third floor we flipped through an impressive variety of magazines, organized alphabetically so that The East Asian Review was right next to Embroidery magazine. The rest of the floor houses Fiction, History and Travel, which we passed through quickly in order to get to the next stop: the kids and teen areas.
The fourth floor is a much-talked about area. Whether you agree with it or not, it was pretty cool to see little kids playing Wii together and working at computers in the library. The books were still there and some little ones were lounging about on the beanbags reading. Nothing compares to the teen room, though. Decked out in bachelor pad cool (note the beaded curtains) the teen room is for those aged 13-18 only, but adults are welcome to come browse for a little bit. As long as they don't stick around for very long.
In the end, we felt a tad guilty about walking away with all that loot for free. But hey, the economy is in the tank, and we could all use some cheap entertainment. As our companion noticed "I think everything is at our fingertips here". And did we mention it's free?
HPL Central Branch is located at 500 McKinney St.
Library hours are Monday-Thursday 9AM-9PM; Friday-Saturday 9AM-6PM; Sunday 1PM-5PM
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