Minneapolis has a fancy new library. Unlike the fancy new San Francisco Library (which, admittedly, isn’t that new any more), the Minneapolis library has room for most, if not all, of the books.
Unfortunately, the library just isn’t open that much. Like some of the programs in Chicago and San Francisco that I mentioned last week, the new library is a high-profile project that just doesn’t meet the needs of many of the city’s residents. It’s pretty, it’s shiny, but it’s not open often enough, or for long enough, to make it a real quality addition to the lives of the people who need it most.
Like the residents of Chicago or San Francisco, the residents of Minneapolis might be better served by basic fundamental programs than by high-profile demonstration projects that don’t serve their day to day needs.