By GREGG ZOROYA
USA Today
Best seat in the house: Good light and a great sight in the Teton County Library in Jackson, Wyo.
(By Barry Williams, AP, for USA TODAY)
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In a library reading room, the only heavy lifting involves the written page. Here, you are encouraged to tarry. Best of all, there is that promise of a serendipitous good read -- one you can indulge in immediately. Ginnie Cooper, director of libraries for Multnomah County in Portland, Ore., and past president of the Public Library Association, suggests libraries with great reading rooms:
Louisville Free Public Library, Crescent Hill Branch, Louisville, Kentucky
The reading room is an original part of the 1908 Beaux Arts library, one of several constructed with Carnegie endowments early this century. Restored in 1994, the room is filled with natural light and furnished with reading tables and four wingback chairs. "It's very close to perfect . . . a place that I might go for five minutes and wish that I could stay for an hour and a half." Information: 502-574-1793.
Denver Public Library, Central Library, Denver, Colorado
The Gates Western History Reading Room showcases Western art by the likes of Frederic Remington and Thomas Moran, plus a panoramic view of the Rockies. The room "is particularly special because of all that wonderful wood in it." Information: 303-640-6200.
The Library of Congress, Main Reading Room, Washington, D.C.
This is the cathedral of American reading rooms: a breathtaking space with its 160-foot domed ceiling, eight giant marble columns and 16 bronze statues of heroic figures. "It sort of reminds everybody of why libraries are important." Information: 202-707-5000.
Newport Beach, California Public Library; Central Library
The Charles Sword Reading Room, with glass on three sides, has vistas that easily compete with reading material. Lounge seating and solitude let you take in distant hillsides, the Pacific Ocean and a good book all at once. "You can see Catalina Island out in the distance." Information: 949-717-3800.
New York Public Library, New York City
The grandeur of the Rose Main Reading Room, which runs the length of a football field, was brought to a high sheen last year with the completion of a $15 million restoration project. The makeover, which took a year and a half, covered everything from the 18 chandeliers to the 42 white oak tables, from the bronze table lamps to the three giant murals on the ceiling. "It really captures both the wonder of libraries and the wonder of New York City itself." Information: 212-340-0849.
Phoenix Public Library, Phoenix, Arizona
The fifth floor of this William Bruder-designed, copper-clad library is a reading room, with sailcloth sun shields at the windows and a 32-foot suspended ceiling that seems to float. "Walking around that room and taking in those views is very cleansing to the mind." Information: 602-262-4636.
Reading, Massachusetts Public Library
The community's fondness for its library reading room is reflected in its nickname: The Town Living Room. Located off the main entrance to this onetime schoolhouse built in 1896, the reading room is marked by huge Palladian windows that "have become the symbol of the library for the community." Information: 781-944-0840.
Spokane, Washington Public Library
Reading rooms on two different floors lure the reader with hand-hewn, white oak chairs and floor-to-ceiling views of the Spokane River and Spokane Falls, a sacred area for local Native American tribes. "It's not a very wealthy community. And this is a pretty spectacular reading room (arrangement)." Information: 509-444-5300.
Teton County Library, Jackson, Wyoming
Another Bruder creation, this library is constructed of lodgepole pines, with its reading room in the center where the roof peaks at 25 feet. Windows look out on wildflowers, aspens and mountains. "It very definitely speaks to what fits in that community and wouldn't fit anywhere else. And it's clearly very much loved by the people who live there." Information: 307-733-2164.
Vancouver (British Columbia) Public Library, Central Branch
Reading areas here take advantage of the building's unique design, a rectangle within an ellipse. Reading galleries on separate floors sit within the ellipse but outside the rectangular core. "This space is wonderful, and the juxtaposition of the circle and the rectangle is particularly exciting to see." Information: 604-331-3600.
