Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library, Bismarck, North Dakota

My plan was to visit the aesthetically pretty pretty State Library in Bismarck, but weather that had been in the low 60s the day before had turned bitter and mean, with a hard frost across the city and a steady, biting wind blowing snow all day. I decided that my brief visit to the Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library the previous day could extend to a full day of work, pretty pretty libraries be danged.

It would be hard to miss the facade of Bismarck's main library. It not only shouts LIBRARY, it features a public signage peep in the act of reading, just in case it was unclear in any way.

Just inside the front doors there is a collection of photos showing the past and present main libraries of Bismarck--I can't begin to guess why the city decided to go from classic to wildly pedestrian, but that's their jam and to each his own.

The interior has this cool, streamlined, open feel that I found comfortable and conducive to long spells of plugging in and disconnecting from this tactile earth. When I resurfaced to the land of the moving, I went to the cafe for more coffee and a snack. Said snack was a seriously delicious chocolate chip cookie that I wolfed before I ever thought to document it.

The basement.

On the brief first day, I spent my time down in the basement, a cold collection of stacks under bright, white light. What I will never stop kicking myself over is not recording the grandfather clock positioned nonchalantly by the elevator. It was one of those more recent brass and glass types, not the old wooden classic, and it would do the usual chiming on the hour and half hour to note the passage of time, but the subsequent BONG-ing was extra special. It didn't just do a stern but melodious GONG. Oh no no no. Now, imagine being down in the basement, vast white light, almost completely alone, and the clock to your left starts tinkly winkling. You've heard it before from a hundred other grandfather clocks, it's nothing special. Then the GONG starts banging, wretched and off key, a shattering, hellscreech of a gong, Gong, GONNNNNG, that jolts you straight out of your train of thought and jettisons you to a cold, airless planet. It honestly scared me at first, it was so out of place and creepy, then the absurdity hit me and I cackled, alone in the basement of the library. Then I was creeped out again. Luckily it was time to go.

I was pleased to see that this library lends art, as well, so the weirdo Wichita Main doesn't stand alone in that offering. A staff member of another library mentioned that they used to lend art, but that it had passed out of vogue years before. I suppose some libraries just don't give up. If you ever need a fancy blue boy, they've got just the blue boy for ya.

I liked this library--it was calm and quiet, and while fairly busy, it was easy to concentrate and get some work done. It had a quirky side, and while clinging to some outmoded practices (and haunted clocks), it also embraced newer trends (cafes, whimsical kids sections). I don't think I missed much skipping that state library, after all.