The Mercantile Library Reopens
The secret is out: the refreshed Merc is stunning.
Before I had moved to Cincinnati, before I got my Ohio Passport reissued, I had already joined the Mercantile Library.
Of course, because I am a Proud Library Person™, but because my old friend and colleague Claudia Anderson was once a member and told me it was a must.
Trusting Claudia implicitly, I joined before I even was able to go... because I lived in Virginia. After joining, I learned that the library wouldn’t formally reopen until fall. No matter, I figured, I would have a lot to do in the interim.
Coincidentally, my current colleague Bill Kristol was invited to give the 1835 Lecture in September, and while I wasn’t able to make a tour of the space, I was able to meet some of the staff. (All of whom are both extremely nice and helpful!)
So, I preface this review with no prior knowledge of what The Mercantile Library looked like other than from pictures I could find.
Parking near the Merc is, at least to this new Cincinnatian, a little scarce so I ended up parking at Fountain Square. A brief walk in this chilly weather, but nice to see the square set up for winter with the skating rink.
The Mercantile Building is also being renovated for residential, so my elevator trip involved a Union minder and a lot of dust.
One of the first people I met, as it turns out, is a fellow Mount Warshingtonian, Cedric Rose, who is the Collector & Librarian. My Bulwark hat likely being a giveaway and Cincinnati being one big small town, we quickly figured out that we are on similar schedules for school drop off and probably drive past each other a couple of times a week. Or, at least, are on the same street at the same time.
Here are some pictures of the main floor, the 11th floor, where most of the books presently are, along with check out.
I checked out The Road by Cormac McCarthy. Why not go with dystopia when it’s so hot these days.
Let’s go up to the new 12th floor, which has new stacks that are #instagrammable as well as neat spaces to read and work.
Want to read this 1985 item on The Mercantile library by The Enquirer’s Alice Hornbaker? Here it is:
My favorite little tidbit is on the iron spiral bookcase, because now with the expansion, a lot of those stairs now do, in fact, lead to places.
Editor’s Note: Amy Hunter, Director of Community & Experience, sends this report about the original staircase. She had to get to the bottom of the claim “it came with the lease.”
What are these, you ask?
CUSTOM. LIGATURED. BOOK JACKETS.
(Thanks to sponsor Graphic Village for printing these for the library!)
If you live in Cincinnati and aren’t a member of The Mercantile Library, you can—and should!—join it. Membership is $30 a year for students, $65 for individuals, and $110 for families.
If you don’t live here, the library’s site claims: “Giving new money to old libraries makes you sexier” and if you agree (or not!) you can donate to support a cool institution.
OH MY.
This is amazing. Inspiring. Wouldn't do the space a disservice by calling it a gem. Looks like a whole mine of them.
Need the Bengals' defensive staff to find some good reads in there on player development and rent out that lounge-y space for a long weekend.
this is what it's all about