#16: Linda Vista Branch

LINDA VISTA BRANCH

Visiting Time: 3:00-4:15PM
Did I get lost on my way? No, of course not. I just took in the sights of University Heights, Kensington, and North Park first.
Book Checked Out: The Undomestic Goddess (Sophie Kinsella)

Book Selection: 3 bookmarks
Seating: 3 bookmarks
Staff: 4 bookmarks
Architecture/Atmosphere: 3 bookmarks

Total: 13 bookmarks

By the time I found this branch, I was a little slap-happy. I entered thinking I'd throw caution to the wind and check out something by Jackie Collins. But when I found her titles on the shelf, I just couldn't go through with it. So I settled for chick lit, and Sophie Kinsella's The Undomestic Goddess.

I am five chapters in, and must admit it's a fun book. The first-person present voice doesn't quite work for me, but I'm not necessarily reading it as something I want to emulate.

Unlike yesterday's experience, this branch was brimming with people actually looking for, checking out, and reading books. While I was reading the Kinsella book in the reading/study area (see below photo), a man came up and began looking through the bound collections of National Geographic. He finally chose an edition from the 1990's (I only saw the decade, not the year; I didn't stare that obviously) and spend twenty minutes looking through it.

The San Diego Public Library Foundation has posted a short news item about my journey. They send out an e-newsletter, which is a great way to stay up-to-date on what's happening (especially if your local branch doesn't have a "Friends of" group). If you live in San Diego, sign up for it!

Pictures:

(A woefully backlit photo of a cool raised reading area.)

(Unlike the College branch, this one is chock full of books.)

#15: City Heights/Weingart Branch

CITY HEIGHTS/WEINGART BRANCH

Visiting Time: 12:30-1:15PM
Did I get lost on my way? Ugh. Yes.
Book Checked Out: About Alice (Calvin Trillin)

Book Selection: 2 bookmarks
Seating: 3 bookmarks
Staff: 4 bookmarks
Architecture/Atmosphere: 2 bookmarks

Total: 11 bookmarks

I once attended a party where a couple learned the sex of their pending baby. It was written on a card inside an envelope, and when the husband pulled it out and said "it's a boy," their faces both alighted. It was a private moment that I felt humbled, and slightly embarrassed, to have witnessed. Every day that I pull up to a library, I feel an iota of this excitement. I never know what I'll get. Both of yesterday's branches were small, and not a whole lot to look at. Although--like a book--you can't judge a library by its cover, because inside they're all the same: they hold books.

The City Heights Branch, though, is in a hip new building. The fireplace chairs on the lower level (photo below) are great, perhaps bested only by the chairs on the upper level.

My trip was slightly dampened by the realization that while there were a good deal of people in this library, they all seemed to either be on the internet, or waiting for the internet. Rows of bookcases stood like silent, dignified statues--like members of the Terracotta Army--just waiting to be called to action.

The trip was then further dampened when a security guard told me photography was prohibited. Which is strange, because I've never seen this rule posted anywhere. The fact that this branch needs a security guard tells me they must have problems, so perhaps the guard was worried I'd do something nefarious (what, I don't know).

After putting away my camera, I checked out About Alice. This is a book I saw at the Scripps Ranch Branch, and regretted not checking out.

Pictures:

(Ah, the end of summer.)

(Ottomans! Ottomans in a library!)

(View from the upstairs study area.)

(Old reserve card from a Laura Ingalls Wilder biography.

Those three hand-written words are names of borrowers.)

CBS/KFMB News Clip

You can watch the CBS/KFMB news clip here.

#14: Logan Heights Branch

LOGAN HEIGHTS BRANCH

Visiting Time: 2:00-2:30PM
Did I get lost on my way? Yes. Extremely.
Book Checked Out: Boom! talking about the sixties (Dan Rather)

Book Selection: 2 bookmarks
Seating: 2 bookmarks
Staff: 4 bookmarks
Architecture/Atmosphere: 3 bookmarks

Total: 11 bookmarks

The KFMB guys wanted to shoot me at two different libraries, so I visited two branches today. Which is perfect because I needed to double up on one day to account for Labor Day, when everything's closed. So after Mission Hills, Larry, Bruce, and I headed over to the Logan Heights Branch. It is really embarrassing to lose your way when a news crew is waiting on you.

Again, Google Maps? Again? What gives? I thought we had a thing going, I thought we had something special. You helped me successfully get to six consecutive libraries. Where'd the love go? There is a big difference between east and west. I think we need a break, and I need to see other map programs. I hope you understand. It's not you, it's me.

There is a super-shiny mega new library in the works to replace this one. But until that happens, this library is situated in a most wonderful Spanish style building. The librarian, Aline, told me that the new branch has been delayed, but will hopefully open by the end of the year. She told me, with a twinge of sadness, that they have a slew of books in storage, just waiting to be offered up to us San Diegans.

I borrowed Dan Rather's book about the 1960's, Boom! I've heard good things about it. Plus, it seemed appropriate with all the news coverage of late about fortieth anniversary of Woodstock.

If I have one regret from taping this news piece, it's that I didn't get to recite, in order, from memory, the libraries that I've visited thus far. But perhaps remembering twelve isn't too impressive. If I can do it in two more weeks, I'll record it myself and put it on Stray Carrier Pigeon.

Many thanks to Larry, Bruce, and KFMB for taking an interest in my project and promoting our local libraries.

Pictures:

(Super-hip literary art. Protected from rain with a tarp.)

(Larry browses for a book of his own.)

(Yes, I stood in an intersection for this shot. Great shot, though, right?)

(New, in-progress Logan Heights Branch.)

#13: Mission Hills Branch

MISSION HILLS BRANCH (You gotta have friends)

Visiting Time: 1:00-1:45PM
Did I get lost on my way? No. I checked my directions three times.
Book Checked Out: My Alexandria (Mark Doty)

Book Selection: 2 bookmarks
Seating: 2 bookmarks
Staff: 4+ bookmarks
Architecture/Atmosphere: 2 bookmarks

Total: 10+ bookmarks

Before today, Bryan was the only person who's accompanied me to a library. Today, Larry Himmel and his cameraman, Bruce, from CBS/KFMB came along.

The story will air (and will probably be teased as "a nutty woman is secreting herself away in libraries this summer--details after the break") on Tuesday during the 5 o'clock news.

A good reporter not only asks smart questions, but also makes their interviewee feel at ease. From Larry's questions, it was clear that he'd researched me and my project; from the way he posed his questions, it was clear he has a gift for working with people.

I think every San Diegan remembers Larry Himmel reporting in front of the rubble of his house during the 2007 wildfires. The news is current events. It is wars and health care bills and crime. It is also the experiences of people, the very things that make us up, like a reporter turning the microphone on himself for a personal tragedy. And maybe even one woman's quest for books.

A librarian named Harlynne (who is also a professional storyteller) helped me choose a poetry book. She talked up an Edna St. Vincent Millay poem but, alas, we couldn't find it. So I settled for Mark Doty's My Alexandria, which really isn't settling at all.

Pictures:

(Bryan tries to sell Larry on a news story about pond scum.)

(A mobile from a previous summer's "Go for the Gold" reading program.)

(Bruce asks me a question of his own.)

#12: Pacific Beach/Taylor Branch

PACIFIC BEACH/TAYLOR BRANCH (You gotta have friends)

Visiting Time: 2:00-2:45PM
Did I get lost on my way? No (But Bryan drove. And I've been to this branch before.)
Book Checked Out: Western Garden Problem Solver

Book Selection: 3 bookmarks
Seating: 3 bookmarks
Staff: 4+ bookmarks
Architecture/Atmosphere: 4 bookmarks

Total: 14+ bookmarks

Like many of the others branches I've visited, you could come to the PB library for a couple hours, not even like books, and thoroughly enjoy yourself. Not only are the chairs comfortable enough for a nap, you can take in some great art.

This branch has an art gallery as part of the library's Visual Arts Program. Lucky for me, its curator, Mark-Elliott Lugo, was at the branch today and happy to tell me about it. He founded the VA Program at the PB branch in 1997. It makes sense because the library, which resembles a nautilus shell, has enough panache to be a contemporary art museum. Current exhibit.

I came here today knowing what book I wanted. At home, there is a fungus among us. On our dwarf apple tree. So I borrowed Western Garden Problem Solver to see if I couldn't eradicate the little sucker. It turns out the fungus is Powdery Mildew. The book says to try washing the tree, pruning its affected regions, and spraying a fungicide. Bryan thinks it might be worthwhile (or at least fun!) to try freezing it off with dry ice. Wish us luck.

Pictures:

(It's hard to tell, but these seats are halfway between chairs and barstools.)

(I don't know what this is, but I like it.)

("The Wizard of Oz"-inspired works by Joe Nyiri.)

(I figure out what's wrong with our tree.)

(What Powdery Mildew looks like.)

#11: Skyline Hills Branch

SKYLINE HILLS BRANCH

Visiting Time: 12:00-1:45PM
Did I get lost on my way? No (But I did get lost going home. Go figure.)
Book Checked Out: Children of a Lesser God (Mark Medoff)

Book Selection: 1 bookmarks
Seating: 1 bookmarks
Staff: 4 bookmarks
Architecture/Atmosphere: 2 bookmarks

Total: 8 bookmarks

My journey to the Skyline Hills branch took me on the 125 freeway for the first time. I am truly living now.

This 4,000-square-foot branch opened July 16, 1969. Its building has a covered drive-through lane (imagine the tree isn't in the above photo) that leads into the parking lot, so I thought perhaps it was a converted In-N-Out Burger. But a clerk told me the building was constructed to be the library. I sort of wish she would've lied and played along; it would've made a better story.

When I told the clerk what I was doing, she asked if I were also visiting the county libraries. In this instant, any "coolness" that I thought I'd gained in undertaking this project was lost. It's like when you're hiking a mountain and you think you're near the peak, only to summit what is a false peak and realize you have miles more (or thirty-three county libraries) to go. All I could tell the clerk was that I'd make my way through the city libraries first, and then consider tackling the county ones. I suppose you always have to have a goal.

I checked out the play Children of a Lesser God. For me, there is something alluring about getting up to speed on the pop culture that was before my time (or before I could read). You hear about things a few years after the fact, you want to be in the know. Plus, if something's still being talked about, it can't be because it's mediocre.

Pictures:

(The view from above.)

(Christian apologist nonfiction incorrectly filed between reference books on Shakespeare and Tom Stoppard.)

(Free books, cheap gas.)