A library the coolest city deserves

The coolest city being, of course, Austin.

They have a brand-spanking-new main library and it is spectacular! Well worth making it a tourist destination during a recent weekend there.

The architectural plan takes openness to the extreme, which makes for photogenic views wherever you look...

I especially enjoyed the views looking straight down from the upper levels...

The stairways and other paths that let you get from one place to another in the huge structure are wonders in themselves...

Plus there are smaller touches that are also fun and worth snapping, from quirky furniture...

...to seasonal decor...

...to funky windows into specialized areas...

A not-so-small decorative element is this...clock?...that dominates a central wall. At least I guess it's not meant to be functional, since I can't figure out how to tell the time from it. Am I missing something?

the pendulum at the bottom does move back and forth

Of course there's a children's area. It's labelled with a sign that doubles as a play structure for young visitors...

Our young visitor also enjoyed one of the coolest areas of the building, the roof garden that extends almost all around the building up on top...

It offers some spectacular views...

looking across Town Lake to the Palmer Center

the nice lawn in front of the old power building

Austin downtown is really booming

I know San Antonio isn't as cool as Austin, but we do have a pretty spectacular downtown library ourselves (and, in a stat I admit is probably only of interest to other librarians, we do have about a million more volumes in our collections). But I was mightily impressed with Austin's new library. City rivalries aside, you can never have too many great libraries in the world!