Assignment 2:My Library Visit!

Cerritos Public Library
18025 Bloomfield AveCerritos, CA 90703
(562) 916-1350
http://menu.ci.cerritos.ca.us/

I decided to visit the Cerritos Public Library and I was amazed at how great it was. I was not expecting it to be so modern and up-to-date. The City of Cerritos poured millions into renovating this library and it was well worth it. It is sometimes known as the Cerritos Millennium Library or the library of the future. It opened to the public sometime in 2002 and it cost a cool $40 million to construct. It was one of the most technologically advanced libraries in the nation that featured three stories of modern-day amenities including 200 brand new computers, 1200 public accessible internet ports, over 300,000 books, museum quality displays, multiple modern conference rooms for use of meetings and/or studying, and ultra-comfortable study halls. The library also features a 15,000 gallon salt-water fish tank that divides the main lobby and the children's room, a scaled down t-rex replica fossil, a scaled down modern space shuttle, custom designed hand-blown colorful glass sculptures, and much more. It's got a huge aquarium, awesome children's section, a pretty good collection of multimedia, all the periodicals and a great theme setup for each section of the library. It's actually motivating to study here. The place looks golden in the setting sun thanks to the multi-million dollar titanium exterior. It is so awesome for Cerritos. The huge in-wall aquarium was my favorite part, which is probably good for hours of entertainment. Then the children's section has a T-Rex skeleton, a huge tree canopy, a night sky and lighthouse, it's great for kids. Everything in that section is kid-sized. There is a large and abundant selection of books, novels, and even media. It's clean and very quiet- just what you'd expect from a library. It is perfect for large group sessions as long as you reserve the conference style rooms. Second floor is mostly non-fiction and reference, but they also have a large computer lab-style area.This would be a highly recommended as a tourist attraction, but maybe not for study hall. The Good part about this library is that it's huge, pretty, and quiet. They have almost every book for casual reading, instructional, and reference. They also let you borrow videos and other media for free. There are also private study rooms (which you have to reserve beforehand) and plenty of desks as well as computers.The bad part about this library is that the employees there are very uptight. They yell at you for moving chairs, moving tables, sitting two to a computer, talking, sitting on the floor, etc. So beware of the blue-shirted staff. In addition, the Cerritos Library also offer story times to kids, and they even have a banquet room called the Skyline room upstairs if you want to throw a party or a wedding. The Skyline room can accommodate 140 guests and it overlooks the Performing Arts Center.

I do have to say, I tried studying here in this beautiful library, but sort of had a hard time. It's kind of echo-y because of the tile floors and them blasting excerpts of the Sound of Music by the entrance of the library. But, I guess if you put yourself in that study mode, it will be alright.