Librarian-types Out There Might Appreciate This

On the sixth floor of a shopping mall yesterday I watched kids of all ages reading for fun. They were stretched out in many different poses; I was sipping a raspberry smoothie. We were all in a new kind of library, called TK Park (short for "Thai Knowledge?")

Some clever designer has laid out the room so that everybody fits in somewhere. There’s the “music corner,” the “book wall,” the “reading bleacher,” and a bank of computers called the “e-library.” Bright colors and lots of curved lines make the space very inviting to a young person’s eye.

Some of the kids were horizontal on huge interlocking cushions; others were fetal position, squeezed into small hexagonal cells that are suspended from the ceiling. Still others were leaning on each other, heads on each others’ shoulders.

Judging by the lack of empty seats in the middle of a Tuesday afternoon, it’s a big success. The government office responsible for this brainchild calls it a place where 21st century kids can get 21st century information. Does the mall nearest you have anything similar?