What distinguishes Bridlewood Mall from less mortally-aware malls is a small cemetery in its parking lot. In the picture above, the word “low” in the supermarket’s sign is positioned such that the tombstone is a pointing to it in a somber yet market-savvy manner.
Before I investigated the library’s new location in 2011, I haunted the ghostly site of its previous home. Looking through the window, I remembered my 2009 visit to Bridlewood Library and how I’d described a rocket made out of construction paper and aluminum foil.
The sadness of the empty room was tempered by its resemblance to a potential set for an ’80’s dance movie like Footloose or Flashdance in which a solitary dancer turns a warehouse or some other unlikely spot into a personal stage. (Then a love interest will unexpectedly witness the performance, startling the solitary dancer).
Shaking off the dance reverie, I took the escalator down to the lower floor of Bridlewood Mall. As I was gliding down, I eagerly scanned left and right for the newly-located branch. I finally spotted it between Shoe Club and Shoppers Drug Mart, and I spent a few minutes taking it in.
The raw energy plywood and bold zigzags first caught my attention. Even though Bridlewood was alive with people, it still managed to look spacious, especially in contrast to the crowded shops surrounding it. I liked the high ceilings and the thick vertical bands of colour that reminded me of a TV screen on a station break.
The intensity of human activity was remarkable at this branch; dynamic patrons were coming and going, reading and browsing, studying and surfing the web. Every single study carrel had a scholar, blue stools supported grandmothers in the children’s area, and at one table two young siblings shared a chair without a squabble. I even saw one determined reader sitting on the floor between shelves. She was happily absorbed in an atlas, head lowered for fuller map immersion.
In the northeast corner of the room, an animated reading circle for children was in progress. One of the teachers explained to a parent, “We’re playing Scrabble. It’s a good game to increase vocabulary and spelling skills.” In an enthusiastic voice, she encouraged the kids to pick out letters (like “T” for tiger) and read the words on the game board.
On the west side of the library, funky tables and mailing tubes created a fanciful reading space in the children’s area. Overhead, the lanterns embodied a vision of jellyfish clouds.
At first I was unsure if I liked the packing tubes because they reminded me of upright cigarettes, but I gradually came to terms with them as interesting space dividers.
Rectangular windows in the plywood divider between the reading lounge and the children’s collection offered additional fresh perspectives as did artistic trees etched in milky glass facing a wide mall-corridor.
As I took a final admiring glance at Bridlewood, it was a joy to see so many families spending their Saturday at the library. Youngsters were hoisting as many books as they could carry and hauling them to the check-out. Adults toted canvas shopping bags brimming with TOEFL guides and magazines.
All in all, Bridlewood branch had a beautifully exuberant atmosphere despite the presence of a graveyard in the parking lot. Not even Victorian tombstones could inhibit this renovated library’s vivacious spirit!