Lovely Libraries

When you're in the same building frequently, say, every day as an employee, or a few times a month as a patron, it's easy to either disregard your physical surroundings or see the flaws in them all too well. That's one reason why it's so gratifying to have visitors and new arrivals to Santa Fe come into the library. They see the city and its offerings with fresh eyes, and they point out things our own eyes have become immune to. There's nothing like working a busy reference desk on a stressful day and having a visitor or transplant let us know how beautiful our libraries are and how much they appreciate the services we provide.

While we didn't make this list of The Most Amazing Libraries in the World, the Santa Fe Public Library—all branches—has some distinguishing features in common with the ones that did. Space, curves, natural light, an emphasis on having books in the direct line of sight. A blend of history and modernity as the hosts of communication, information, knowledge, and hopefully, wisdom. We may never be singled out on The Huffington Post for our style, but that's OK. We like where we are and what we look like, and we hope you do too!