Richview Public Library

Richview, what to say about you. It’s large branch that was once divided between three floors. The basement was their kid section which was flooded out a few summer ago. They have build up their kid’s section since at beggining it was a small collection on second floor but now it’s pretty decent.
The organization of this library always did confuse me, half the non fiction was on main floor and other one section and even on second floor the layout confuses you. It goes around the edge to middle? Poor planning if you ask me.
The main floor is composed of a few things, their main desk, circulation and reference. an open computer area, half the non fiction and fiction section as well a teen area. The teens seem to be a bit of an nuisance here but it seem like staff know but dont do much.
They also have single use washroom, both mens and womens and vending machine. Not that I would use the machines but I can see why they have the, This branch is in a residental area and the close plaza is ¹⁰⁄₁₅ min walk (not that it has anything worth going for)
The second floor is their quiet floor and they have separate study room (group room not single) and a quiet computer room. They are much better enforcing the quiet rule up there so it a good spot to study. The have washroom up here too, a galley like area where they may feature art and a meeting room for programs but it can double as study room when not in use.
All in all, it’s one of my favourite branches, the staff are pretty helpful thou I do find the security guard sometime rude but I heard he’s been there for a while so I guess I just have put up with him. Atleast he does his job but he’s too serious and rude at times.

Richview Library is one of those locations that has really evolved to keep up with the times. It is actually a medium sized library, though when you are in it, it seems much smaller.
I always thing of movie libraries, where they have endless halls of books or massive stacks where you can’t reach the one book you need, or walls of books. But the reality is, rich view is functional without living up to the movie hype libraries.
The library really redid it self in the last few years. It almost seems like technology and keeping up with the times, smashed into the old world library that was trying to keep pace.
The library is now split into 6 key areas. Downstairs is the kids section, a great area for… kids. Its got an open space that as a kid I thought was a massive auditorium, and has more than enough books to keep any kid entertained for hours (or days when I was a kid… honest, I was allergy to fresh air and sunlight!:()
At the top of the stairs to the kids area, you are at the entrance or the check out area. Its now been converted from 6 check out stations to an open space where one wall has auto checkouts and a central section where you can get help and have a person help you check in/​check out.
to the far right of the building is the «teen» area. Its awkwardly coloured (go and check it out) and has awkward couches and an awkward floor to ceiling glass wall to look through and see awkward teenagers adolesc-​ing.
The main upgrade is right in front of the check in. Its the 20 or so computers stationed there now. This has evolved over time as computers have become a big part of our lives and ever year a visit to the library showed the prevalence of computers with the increase in space that it began to utilize. There is free wifi in the library and the computers are free to use as well. Its interesting to see so many people come to to library to just sit on their laptops and to see the computer area so full. I almost wonder if people understand the beauty of a library or the feel of a book… maybe we just need to start building computer labs that have a no talking policy… that seems to be what most people go there for…
But I digress, back to the areas. If you’ve been counting, we have done 4 areas. The 5^th, I’m going to encompass as «upstairs». Probably the least changed of all the areas, «upstairs» has been the same since 1990, when I first went to that library. Even the rickety old desks and the guy at the help desk are the exact same… freaky. Great area if you are looking to study, but the people at the help desk are sticklers for being quiet… so shhhhhhhhh
Last bucket or area is just… everything else. The book stacks, the hallways, the vending machine, the washrooms (I think only the «upstairs» and downstairs «kids» washrooms are available free and without needing to ask permission) are all there. I call this the overhead!
At the end of the day, the library has done a great job to upgrade it self but I can’t help but be sad that with the advent of computers and peoples need for snippets of info vs deep data, that only a library can provide, that in a few years there won’t be a condo in this place instead.
5 stars for nostalgia and trying to keep up with the times
–1 star for hedging my bets and not going with a lost cause (or because the teen area creeps me out)