There are unavoidable rituals that must get accomplished upon arrival in a new city. To get roots into the ground, one generally seeks a reference
and establishes relationships with highly meaningful local places.
The first on the list are usually pubs. Once you can walk into a pub after a day’s work, looking tired and burdened by the weight of many responsibilities, yet keeping cool, acting like an old timer and answering the barman’s greet with a cheerful « Hey Shawn, how’s it going tonight? », you’ve got it made, you’re a local. You’re part of the few, the proud.
The next anchor will be entertainment and sports. Know a few clubs, bars, restaurants, theaters and gyms and you’re even better rooted. Now you can talk proudly about the latest event at the Commodore Ballroom, praise the quality of independent coffee shops like the Trees Organic Coffee House as opposed to Evil Empire Starbucks, report seeing a flick a Burrard’s latest Paramount cinemas, argue about the excellence of the Granville Island Brewing Co. tap beer served at the Kingston, discuss the menu of Rob Feenie’s Lumiere restaurant and expertly compare the snow quality of Cypress, Grouse and Seymour.
Then there’s usually a long flirtatious relationship with the local newspapers, a couple of radio stations and maybe even TV. It’s all about discussing the same news with the same friends every morning, and bringing forward suggestions for the morning crossword puzzle. This is an anchor I usually avoid like the plague.
And finally comes the public library. In this case, I have no idea why I hadn’t been there yet; maybe it had to do with the utter disappointment I felt after visiting Montreal’s new Central Library last year, which sadly turned out to be an ugly cubic building with no open spaces, low ceilings and prevailing darkness.
Well the Vancouver Central Public Library is all the opposite (do we detect a pattern, here? 
) When I walked in, my first thought immediately went to Salt Lake City’s Central Public Library. The architectural resemblance was striking. A huge windowed wall, 6 or 7 floors high, opening onto a semicircular hall of grandiose proportions. Then I remembered that both libraries were actually the creation of the same man, architect Moshe Safdie (who is also behind the Habitat 67 in Montreal).
Vancouver’s Central Public Library outer shape is a strange one; it was very controversial when built. Many claimed that it too openly imitated the Coliseum and had nothing to do with Vancouver (a resemblance denied by Safdie). In any case, the building’s complicated design is an eye catcher. So much so that it was featured in the movie « The Sixth Day » with California’s Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger.
The library consists of an inner rectangular pavilion contained into a free-standing elliptical belt and
towered by an external adjoining matching office tower.The ellipse moves away from the cube on its east side to form the giant entry hall where coffee shops are lined up, but it touches it on its western side through bridges that leap from the main structure across reading areas located on the narrow elliptic crown.
The building is complex but attractive and pleasant to be in. White painted bookshelf-room ceilings are 13 feet high and reflect the diffuse lightning, creating a very comfortable reading environment. Each of the 7 levels is equipped with database and internet access computer work stations (a total of around 300 if my count was correct, half of which were internet-enabled), as well as printers and copying machines.The 32,236 square meters (347,000 sq. ft.) library has a seating capacity of 1200 people. 51 km of cable were laid out including a vertical fiber optic backbone. Documents are neatly organized on 24 km of shelving and moved around the 7 floors on horizontal and vertical conveyors. More than 1.35 million items are housed in the Central Branch, including periodicals, microforms, audio-visual and 750,000 books. It is estimated that 50% of Vancouverites have a VPL card (obtaining such a card was a painless 2 minutes process.)
And for the first time in a library, I even found a couple of PSR-180 Yamaha keyboards! For the uninitiated, these are electronic pianos. How awesome is that? Feel like playing music? Want to practice a concerto or experiment on a music research project? Have a seat and kindly wear headphones not to bother other patrons.
Now was I kidding about Vancouver or not?
»
« Amazing isn’t it. Did you register so you can borrow stuff? »
Date of comment: 2006-05-03 21:49 •« I sure did! Haven’t borrowed anything yet though, been too busy looking around...
»
Date of comment: 2006-05-03 21:52 •« You were not kidding about Vancouver, or so it seems! This city sounds incredible! Seriously. The more I read, the more i feel some kinda similarities between Vancouver and NYC. Must be the atmosphere or something. I don’t know Vancouver though, so, who am i to speak anyway?
»
Date of comment: 2006-05-03 23:04 •As for the library, I cannot tell you the number of hours i spent in NYC’s Public Library on 42th street. And what you describe here just asserts that a library is a golden mine not only for the mind but also for the eyes. I really like the last picture. Et j’adore ton style. On se lasse jamais, jamais de te lire. So, as you once wrote: More! More!
« Awesome! Are there any books? »
Date of comment: 2006-05-04 04:16 •« I love being a smartass sometimes...such a pleasant feeling »
Date of comment: 2006-05-04 04:21 •« Smartass indeed. I don’t know about books, I was looking at the computers, you know, those wonderful things that were invented recently and are replacing paper very fast?
»
Date of comment: 2006-05-04 20:59 •« As you said it was simple and easy. Let’s go then: Can I have your email then? LOL Is it really all over your blog?
You really think that I’m bloody pushy and impatient?!!!!
»
Date of comment: 2006-05-04 07:40 •Okay then, on passe de l’autre coté du miroir alors, on devient autre chose que des commentaires sur des blogs?? Up to you now... I already made a complete fool of myself.
« Ok, mais a condition de repondre a une question piege: on dit que la grenouille coasse et que le corbeau croasse. Quel est le cri de la fourmi?
»
Date of comment: 2006-05-04 21:10 •« La fourmi croonde of course!!... Oh My Lord, that was an easy one!!
Date of comment: 2006-05-04 21:56 •...............Mais quel est l’âge du capitaine?! »
« « Âge du capitaine. – Problème posé par l’écrivain français Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) dans une lettre à sa sœur Caroline en 1843. Puisque tu fais de la géométrie et de la trigonométrie, je vais te donner un problème : Un navire est en mer, il est parti de Boston chargé de coton, il jauge 200 tonneaux, il fait voile vers Le Havre, le grand mât est cassé, il y a un mousse sur le gaillard d’avant, les passagers sont au nombre de douze, le vent souffle NNE, l’horloge marque trois heures un quart d’après-midi, on est au mois de mai ... On demande l’âge du capitaine. Ce problème contient des données qui ont plus ou moins de liens entre elles et pose une interrogation sans aucun lien avec les données. Quand on paraphrase ce problème, peu importe les données présentées, le problème se termine la plupart du temps par la question : Quel est l’âge du capitaine ?. C’est donc un problème qui n’a pas de solution. »
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 00:04 •Consulte donc mon commentaire sur NYA... »
« Wow! (Looks at NewYork Angel with newfound respect for answering the croassement question so promptly and accurately.) On reconnait tout de suite une femme de lettres! »
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 04:58 •« Well, Sigrid, apparemment entre ‘femmes de lettres’, on se comprend!
Et puis, Vince avec sa théorie historique et littéraire sur l’âge du capitaine, il m’a bien fermé mon clapet... Donc, voilà, he rules his own blog and proves it. 
»
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 07:15 •« Naaaaw, NewYork Angel, la réponse de Vincent sentait le « cut and paste » à plein nez!!!
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 12:57 •Oh Hi Vince! »
« Ça, of course c’était du ‘cut n’ paste’ mais juste je pensais que ce truc,l’âge du capitaine,y’a plus personne qui percuterait...Genre, la blague à deux balles qui fait rire absolument personne...Et d’ailleurs, je sais pas pourquoi c’était caché dans ma mémoire, cette phrase!
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 13:22 •Oh Captain, my Captain! »
« Bon euh, je ne vous dérange pas au moins? Bien sur que c’était du « cut an paste », voici la source. En fait, à mon grand regret, je n’avais même jamais entendu la blague, j’ai donc du faire une p’tite recherche…
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 13:32 •http://www.recreomath.qc.ca/dict_capitaine_age.htm
Quant à régner sur mon blog, bien sur que je règne, avec droit de veto et tout… »
« Oui tu nous déranges un peu, m’enfin... Elle connait le cri de la fourmi et elle cite O Cap’tain my Cap’tain...c’est
Date of comment: 2006-05-06 09:42 •décidé, je l’adopte.
Angel, je te recommande de t’instruire sur la chasse à l’escargot (snail
hunt - sur Away From the Ocean - tchèke le lien kekpart à droite) ça a l’air
tout à fait dans tes cordes...
OK! OK! On va aller parler ailleurs! (M’énerve, m’énerve! On est même plus
chez soi ici!) »
« By the way, Angel, funny you should say that. I used to test my groups’ sense of humour (and movie knowledge I guess) when giving dive briefings and I still do it once in a while when giving a tour at work. I introduce myself and then add that if they are daring, they might address me as « Oh Captain my Captain ».
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 13:38 •I usually get blank stares back. LOL. »
« Es decir que he aprobado el examen entonces?? Lo veo como ‘a clear sign’! Great minds think alike, or so it seems. LOOOOL.
»
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 13:46 •« I didn’t know you thought the way I did regarding the new Montreal’s Library.
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 16:34 •I hate it. Once you’re in you just can’t
wait to get out. Sad sad sad... Where is the glorious Vancouver one located ? »
« l’age du Captain ??? Moi je sais moi je sais !! hin hin hin ! »
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 19:53 •« Yeah, but I’m also going to end up getting expelled
»
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 23:58 •« Anonymous: the VPL is located between the Georgia, Robson, Homer & Hamilton streets. Got it?
»
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 23:46 •Setph: vas-y, vas-y, impressionne nous!
NYA: por supuesto que si, lo has aprobado. Pero desde ahora, quisiera que me llames Nuwanda...
« Oh, you mean that right now, Nuwanda, You’re walking around with ‘war paint’ all over your face shouting ‘NUWWWWANDA’??!!Must be fun to watch!
»
Date of comment: 2006-05-05 23:53 •