The McLibrary

In reading Wisner's text, I found the term McLibrary amusing and appropriate. In a society where we can "have it our way" at almost any time of the day, it's not surprising that our libraries and schools have moved toward this methodology. Some early McDonald's slogans can be mirrored with the purpose of our libary at that time. "The Closest Thing to Home (1967)," "You deserve a break today (1971)," and "We do it all for you (1975)."

In college, one of my most loved professors (Dr. Morrill), taught a class called the History of Charlotte/Mecklenburg. He devoted numerous class lectures and pages in his book about the beauty of Charlotte architecture and how our campus UNCC was a visionary in design. The same architect, Odell, that designed the Charlotte Observer building downtown designed two buildings of our campus. These modernist buildings were the jewels of campus in their heyday. But today the campus' new classically designed buildings almost suffocate the small, modern buildings in the heart of UNCC. The once revered design is now an eyesore and awaiting transformation.

Dr. Morrill talked openly about the McMansions that have sprung up and down the city streets. They were loosely based on the beautiful old south architecture that remained, but were slapped up quickly and with imitation. I remember him saying how the shutters don't even have a function. They just look pretty nowadays. These McMansions that look good, often lose function after several years.

The same can probably be said about the McLibraries of our present and future. They sound good and look good, but can they stand the test of time?