#23: Rancho Penasquitos Branch

RANCHO PENASQUITOS BRANCH (You gotta have friends)

Visiting Time: 1:00-1:15

Did I get lost on my way? No.

Book Checked out: A Map of Home (Randa Jarrar)

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

Total: 13 bookmarks

So I started this library tour project because I had some extra time this summer. Now, with classes having resumed for me (as both a Spanish student and assistant ESL teacher), some libraries are getting short shrift. I stopped into the RB library between classes.

With my new semester starting, I was in the mood for something bright and shiny. So I went to the "New Releases" section and chose A Map of Home. Which, it turns out, is almost a year old. But according to Lakin's review of her local library, The Petaluma Library considers the seventies to be new. So the book I checked out is hot off the presses. With such a crazy day, I haven't read past the first page.

I do want to admit, though, that I read all of yesterday's book. And while the first-person omniscient (think about it for a minute...huh?) was a bit odd, the book had one of the best endings I've read in some time. Of course, I won't give it away here; you'll have to devote two hours of your own to this juvenile book (124 pages of large print), and see for yourself.

Pictures:

(A second exterior photo.)

(The world need more paisley, and the RP library is doing its part.)

(Palm tree atrium next to a study area.)

#22: Ocean Beach Branch

OCEAN BEACH BRANCH

Visiting Time: ? (Who cares? It's OB!)

Did I get lost on my way? No.

Book Checked out: The Baby-sitters Club #130: Stacey's Movie (Ann M. Martin)

Book Selection: 2 bookmarks
Seating: 2 bookmarks (good seats/cushions in kids' section!)
Staff: 4 bookmarks
Architecture/Atmosphere: 3 bookmarks

Total: 11 bookmarks

Julie accompanied me to this branch. We were inside five seconds when a librarian clerk named Michael spotted me. Michael and I go way back. All the way to Sunday and the Point Loma library. He gave me a map of all library locations in not only San Diego city, but the county. If only the maps were available in large supply, I'd wallpaper a room with them, like the subway map wallpaper at those sandwich shops.

Julie and I then high-tailed it into the kid's section. While Julie tried skim-reading her way to find out "the secret" in Hatchet (she found it, it's a kiss), I browsed the turn racks and was amazed to find the ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTIETH BOOK in the Baby-sitters Club series. Oh, to be the author of such a franchise.

I'd devoured these books as a kid, and remember spending all my money on them at the Little Professor bookstore. Since I only have one day with each book on this whirlwind tour, I've yet to read something cover to cover. But if ever I'm to do it, tonight might be it.

Pictures:

(New boogie board in hand, Julie checks out the children's section.)

#21: Carmel Valley Branch

CARMEL VALLEY BRANCH

Visiting Time: 6:22-6:23PM

Did I get lost on my way? No. I am here every week.

Book Checked out: Jimmy Stewart: a life in film (Roy Pickard)

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

Total: 14 bookmarks

This is my home base library branch, and I'd been saving its review until I ran into a pickle one day and didn't have time to travel to a branch. Today was that day. I stopped in here for no more than a minute, picked the first book I saw, snapped my photo, and went on my merry (or frantic) way to class.

But it's worth mentioning that this is the city's busiest branch. And while I still have 15 libraries to go, I have to agree. Anytime that I'm in here, there are people everywhere: on the computers, in the thick of the stacks, reading magazines in chairs, or hanging out in the children's area.

#20: Point Loma Branch

POINT LOMA BRANCH (You gotta have friends)

Visiting Time: 1:30-2:30PM
Did I get lost on my way? No. :)
Book Checked Out: A Century of Car Design (Penny Sparke)

I go one day without a bookmark ranking and I hear about it from the masses, or the five people who read this blog. So the rankings are back.

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

Total: 14 bookmarks

This branch took a cue from McDonald's and their outdoor playground in designing the children's area. The stairs that lead down to the children's level are encompassed in a ship, complete with a captain's wheel, passageways and portholes. The children's level also has worktables shaped like wooden surfboards, and a periscope that leads up to the street level.

Another patron and I struck up a conversation around a poster depicting the Poets Laureate of California. He told me about Lawrence Ferlinghetti, and I told him about Quincy Troupe. And then we went our separate ways, off to different ends of the book aisles. It was like this perfect, momentary, encounter.

The gentleman to whom I will be giving English lessons this week loves cars. So I checked out A Century of Car Design in the hope that we can read some of the short sections together. I can teach him English, and he can teach me a little about Bugatti.

Pictures:

(Top of the staircase.)

(Ship's inside.)

(Ship's backside.)

#19: Balboa Branch

BALBOA BRANCH

Visiting Time: 1:30-1:45PM
Did I get lost on my way? No. Bryan drove.
Book Checked Out: Italy

Bryan and I were in and out of this branch. We were starving, and Costco called. But it's been around since '71, and used to be called the Mesa Vista branch. There are also ten churches in the area. Which seems fitting, because the roof of this library looks like an Eastern place of worship to me. I'm still disappointed that this branch didn't once serve as an In-N-Out.

I will be giving some English lessons to an Italian gentleman next week, so I checked out Italy in order to learn a little more about his culture.

This blog entry is underwhelming. If you feel cheated, head over to Rhymes with Bacon, where Lakin will soon be reviewing the libraries of Sonoma County. Do you think the usual "No drinks allowed" rule is waived at their Wine Library?

Picture:

(Bryan looks through Architectural Digest.)

#18: Oak Park Branch

OAK PARK BRANCH

Visiting Time: 2:00-3:15PM
Did I get lost on my way? No. :)
Book Checked Out: A Woman Alone: Travel tales from around the world

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

Total: 9 bookmarks

While reading at this branch, a mother called looking for her son. The librarian announced the boy's name, and he came and took the receiver. She'd wanted to tell him she was on her way, and that he should wait outside.

After the boy left, the librarian told the security guard that she often has problems with children being left alone at the library after it closes. She says their policy is to wait with the child for fifteen minutes, and then call the police. Somehow I would've thought there are rules against leaving young children in public places unattended for even a minute.

I've never thought of libraries as somewhere to leave your child while you work or run errands. As a child, I was fortunate enough to have a mother who didn't have to work. When I went to the library, it was with her.

Today I borrowed A Woman Alone, which is a collection of solo travel essays written by women. So far I've discovered a place I'd never heard of before--the Faroe Islands--and learned that maybe Italian men aren't as forward as their stereotype indicates.

Pictures:

There were a lot of people in this branch, and I didn't want to disturb them by taking too many photos. But here are two:

(Nice neon.)

(Art along the far wall.)

#17: North Clairemont Branch

NORTH CLAIREMONT BRANCH
Visiting Time: 4:00-5:00PM
Did I get lost on my way? No!
Book Checked Out: The Driver (Alexander Roy)

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

Total: 11 bookmarks

When I pulled up to this library and saw its zigzag roof, I was transported back to my childhood, and the Girl and Boy Scout events in Orange County that I associate with this architecture.

The Mini that Bryan and I ordered has been on my mind lately (mainly in the form of, "When's it gonna be here? Why isn't it here?"), so I checked out The Driver, which is about a man's experiences in open-road car rallies and races, including the Gumball 3000. And again, I was transported back to my childhood, when I loved watching our Beta copies of "The Cannonball Run" and "The Gumball Rally." While the author has a frustratingly poor grasp of the past perfect tense, it's still an interesting read.

Pictures:

(Customer service to rival Nordstroms'.)

(Cool roof.)