Jesse H. Jones Building

This place is finally open again after a much-needed, two-year renovation. The building dates back to 1976, and fortunately it’s lost its dated, stuffy feel.

There are now kid and teen rooms on the fourth floor, and a cafe run by local coffeehouse Inversion soon to come to the first floor. The first floor is also home to lots of new computers – they run XP, so no one has to worry about Vista – and not only more staff, but also uniformed staff, which makes finding help much easier.

Geometric Mouse X, the red sculpture, has been moved in front of the other library building, and the plaza has a nice splash of color now. Inside, the library has new flooring, new seating, and they’ve finally gotten rid of those squeeky escalators!

The whole place has a different feel now. There are still quiet areas, including private study rooms, but there are also places geared for interaction, not to mention lots of scheduled events – everything from concerts to dance lessons. It feels more like a community center than a library.