I can’t agree with your criticism on this video. I think it was well done, gets at the theme of the series, and the comment about the building destruction could be interpreted any number of ways. There were buildings destroyed, rebuilt, including the downtown post office, due to the bombing (obviously not the library). As for the “main library” comment, well, that’s really splitting hairs… where is the system’s administration located? Which library is the biggest in the system? Which is seen by locals as being the flagship branch? I’m going to post this video with kudos!

Go for it, Steve! And thanks for the comment. Although it was pretty weird that I had to approve a comment from you. LOL

By the way, do you have any idea what strange radio station those two were listening to when they were driving downtown? I almost made a comment about that, too.

could have been a problem getting a video camera into the memorial, maybe even the library. and that radio station was weird. lol

I’m with you on this Bill. As a long-time researcher of primary documents for my writing, I picked up on the same things you noticed. If I were doing this type of video series, hoping to have it picked up by the media (which these men undoubtledly are anticipating), I would be spending a little more time in the research mode. Even just an hour of either talking to a senior employee at the MLS downtown branch or going online for credible sources of info would have been more appropriate for what these men are trying to do with their video series.

As far as which library branch is the “biggest”, or most utilized, my best guess (for the MLS system) is that Edmond would come the closest to meeting that description. And I feel that is due in large measure to the long-time efforts of the previous director, Karen Bays.

P.S. I agree with you on their selected radio station to represent the state of Oklahoma. Not sure their intentions were to uplift the state. One more question, why didn’t they visit ODL and the regional FDL there?

Thanks, Tory. You’re right. I suspect they would have to jump through hoops to film at the memorial museum and archive.

And, Vehoae, you’re also right. Circulation at Edmond, Belle Isle and probably other branches are much higher than at the downtown branch.

I certainly don’t want to discourage this photographer, his son, and his colleagues. I think their project is important. As they say on their site, “our trip will complete 17 years of field work documenting this precious American resource.”

It will be great to see these photos and videos in the future. But, based on the Oklahoma City example, I wonder if we can trust the narration in the videos. They may be documenting the visual, but it doesn’t look like they are documenting the “facts”.

OMG, I think I live in an OKC diverse neighborhood. That was a little inane. And why did they pick the Stockyards branch, want to see if there were any cows walking around. I hate it when people act like it’s a real surprise that we have a library and people read and well we’re actually civilized. Are they just documenting a road trip or what?

Kitty, I suspect they picked the Wright and Downtown branches because they were the closest off I-40. It’s all part of a project to “document” public libraries in the country. I’ve put in the link to their site in the post if you want to explore more.