By Matthew Hazzard
When it comes time for the first day of class, the freshmen (and freshwomen) are filled with wonder at all the exciting places to explore at Capital; the upperclassmen (and upperclasswomen) are filled with frustration because nothing is where it was, and there seems to be a new name for everything anyway, so explorers all are we.
Of course, we all know that Blackmore Library was renovated over the summer, making it an exciting place for those who want to see what’s new.
The first thing you’ll notice when you get to the library is the old Capital logo, the Citadel of Learning, is no longer on the big doorway windows.
While we are in the age of branding and teal and orange accent colors, it’s nice to be able to look at a building on campus and see a glimpse of our past as an institution and the symbols that motivated us then and hopefully still do.
Once inside, you are greeted by the friendly library and IT folks at the new center-of-the-room help desk. While this is nice, the move has led to the exodus of the Berlin Wall to behind Huber Spielman. But perhaps that is a rant for another day.
Where flags of many nations once hung, large odd-angled shots of capital landmarks are sort of wallpapered. Featured in each photo is a quote about education; I wonder what in Sam Hill made them pick the quotes they did.
No women quoted, no educators; I love B.B. King, he’s a great musician, but I would much rather hear what Maria Montessori or John Dewey have to say. After all, our library is in the Dewey Decimal System.
Martin Luther revolutionized education in Germany, as any student of Education 151 can tell you; maybe a quote by him would have been a good idea.
There is a quote by Thomas Paine, which is quite nice, but it is right next to a picture of Capital’s St. Anthony Statue. How long is it going to take before people start thinking we have a statue of Thomas Paine on campus?
One of my favorite features of the old library was the stairwell and how each step told you where you could find each classification of books.
Those are gone and most of the books have moved to the 3rd floor, taking away all the quiet study space that was up there.
What really cute is that the large arrows that now are displayed on the stairwell walls aren’t painted as one would expect but are really just large stickers; let’s take bets on how long it will take before that is defaced. (Be forewarned, gambling is against the student code of conduct).
But, praise be to God because the best thing about the Blackmore Library has not changed, the librarians and staff. They are still there to help you with research, suggest a book, and give you popcorn.
mhazzard@capital.edu
