Ed Kemmick
Wait a minute. Maybe books and live music aren't dead yet. Midori Zigweid, 3, was intently reading Saturday afternoon while bassist David Banuelos performed in the teen area of the new Billings Public Library.
Will Bruder was the man of the hour Saturday during dedication ceremonies for the new Billings Public Library.
Bruder is the Phoenix-based architect chiefly responsible for the eye-catching library that has attracted thousands of people since it opened on Jan. 6.
Jennie Stapp, the Montana state librarian, called the new building “a visual representation of what it means to gather as a community.” And though other librarians around the state might feel a few pangs of jealousy, she said, they are also feeling “a resounding sense of pride.”
Bruder said the library “works” because he talked to a lot of local residents and listened to them closely before he began his design work. What he heard over and over again, he said, was what Leslie Modrow, development director for the library foundation, told him at the outset.
Ed Kemmick
Leslie Modrow, with the library foundation, listens to architect Will Bruder, who designed the new library.
People in Billings “really understand that we’re on the edge of the prairie where it meets the mountains,” he said, and the valley is enclosed by the striking Rimrocks. Those considerations were “always in the background” as he designed the new library, he said.
Another, homlier inspiration was drawn from the Dude Rancher Lodge, just south of the library, where Bruder always stays when he comes to Billings, and where he always sleeps with the drapes open. He liked the “weeping mortar” design at the Dude and brought it over to the new library.
“Good architecture happens because of a rigor between pragmatism and poetry,” he said.
Bill Cochran, director of the library for 25 years, said there were times when he thought he’d never see a new library.
Ed Kemmick
Library Director Bill Cochran delivers a few remarks during dedication ceremonies Saturday.
“I can’t tell you how happy, grateful, honored and relieved I am to be here today,” he said. Cochran said Americans invented the free public library, and libraries remain virtually the only public space where everyone is welcome to gather.
One frequent complaint about libraries, here and elsewhere, is that they are too open and become a hangout for transients and street people.
Horacio Cantu, an employee of Guardian Security who was working at the library Saturday, said the security people have gotten pretty good at nipping problems in the bud.
People smelling of alcohol are not allowed in the building, adults without children can’t linger in the children’s area, and adults can browse for books in the teen area but can’t sit down.
Also, he said, “If they fall asleep, they get one warning and then they have to leave.”
After Bruder, the person most praised Saturday was Mr. Smith, the anonymous benefactor whose $2 million cash donation for architectural services kickstarted the project and ultimately paved the way for public approval of a $16 million bond to build the library.
During his talk in the library’s community room, which will look out over a patio and garden after the old library is demolished, Cochran called for a standing ovation for Mr. Smith. If Mr. Smith was there, it must have been an emotional moment.
Editor’s note: Look for an expanded version of this story in next week’s Billings Outpost. And don’t miss Craig Lancaster’s reflections on libraries and reading.
