This might as well be my home. You will find me dissertating here most days of the week. I love it, and here is why:
I love that it has sunny open spaces for doing work, and darkened nooks for reading mysteries. I love that it has two Presse-Cafés with very pleasant staff members. I love that the new returns system runs all returned materials on a conveyor belt, visible under glass. I love that the elevators are see-thru. I love the design, especially the not so harsh but still very late modern angles. I love how many different places there are to study. I love that the journals section is well curated. I love that the museum downstairs does not only NOT suck, but is really quite good. I love the bike racks and the garden. I love that it's filled with French books, like, ALL French books. (As an American getting a PhD in French literature, this is the stuff of dreams, people.) I love that they also have a very decent selection of novels in English. I love that their music selection is AMAZING. Amazing. Who's your favorite indie band that no one's heard of? They've got it. I love that they do interlibrary loans without blinking an eye. I love that it's located right next to a thousand good cafés on Saint-Denis for quick cheap study food access. I love that when it's -30 C I do not have to step outside from the metro to the entrance. I love that they are truly public. I love that the people who work on the CD/DVD floor KNOW that their materials are ALWAYS missing, even when the computer says otherwise, and they have the unending patience required to track things down.
My lifelong love of libraries has found a home. For now...