I’ve been flogging the dead horse of whining about how the Parliament Street Library has been closed for months for renovations, but I flog no more.
It originally closed sometime in May, with an estimate of opening again in July. We were traveling through the summer, so I was looking forward to seeing it when we returned in August. The next update was September, then late September, then—a light!—an official date: October 7th. I asked for my holds to be transferred to Parliament for October 7th, but alas, more delays, and my holds were sent back to St. Jamestown. Having learned their lesson from pronouncing an actual date, the library went back to “mid-October.”
And then! With no ado at all, the doors opened. I wouldn’t have even noticed had I not been hounding the staff relentlessly.
And so the Parliament Street branch has opened again, and the relief is palpable. I feel like a troll that’s wandered out from underneath a darkened bridge, eyeballing all the new fixtures that basically look very similar to how they looked before. Apparently most of the extended renovations had to do with structural issues that, fixed, are I suppose not exactly noticeably different. I’ve been talking with/harassing all the librarians I could corner during this renovation downtime, if you didn’t get that sense.
I realize this all sounds slightly ridiculous. When the Parliament Street branch was closed, we had to go to the St. Jamestown branch, which is about a 15 minute walk away. This is nothing! Nothing. Especially if you’re listening to an audiobook along the way. But I’m typically not actually listening to an audiobook because I’m dragging the kids along and I need to have my ears open to listen to all the nonsensical rambling about secret treasures in holes and what happens when pigs eat pancakes and how Chicken is spicy. 15 minutes each way is an extra half hour, and afternoon school, when we’re also trying to fit in making dinner, always seems a bit tight.
And so now we’re back again. Ready to embrace a quick half hour at the library at the drop of a hat.
making wild rice 