Urban development -- a perspective after PLA

I have been subscribing to the email newsletter "Shelf Awareness." In today's issue is an article about the Open Book store in Minneapolis. Now, while I am a latecomer to the upper Midwest, and certainly don't know what the neighborhood used to be like, I did have the opportunity to visit for a reception at the PLA National Conference.

It is a great store, it houses several (?) small presses, and has an incredible workshop for printing. There is a cute gift shop which I also patronized while there, and there is the now-required coffee bar.

I encourage a visit!

Irony: Libraries and Classics

The April 1, 2007 issue of Booklist just landed on my desk. Because I am not a book selector any more, I generally look at Will Manley's column and browse the table of contents before I pass it on. In this issue, Will title is "Libraries, Bookstores, and Classics." It is an interesting and thoughtful look at trends in public libraries and bookstores over the past couple of decades. He talks about the irony of the changes.

"The Back Page" is by Booklist editor Bill Ott. His topic is irony, and how he has to work hard to determine irony.

I found the juxtaposition of the two items ironic.