After leaving the bustling Athenaem building we continued on our media tour to the downtown Central Library. This much awaited structure opened its doors in late 2007. Before its opening, the building made the news for delays and budget crunches. Now you'll see that the six floors of fun was well worth the wait.

Our tour guide, Communications Specialist Jon Barnes, traveled with us from top to bottom. The 6th floor holds the treasured Indianapolis Special Collections Room. In the Indianapolis Collection you'll find scrapbooks, church histories, yearbooks, Indianapolis 500 items and biographies. Indiana Authors housed here include Vonnegut, James Whitcomb Riley, Meredith Nicholson and Booth Tarkington. Unique to this room are the Wright Marble Cookbooks and the Arthur H. Rumpf Menu Collections. The ISCR is a climate controlled room and visitors may require special preservation care to handle these materials.

On the main floor is the The Learning Curve area. "The Learning Curve is a high tech, high energy, hands-on information environment designed for today's children." From toddlers to teens there is something for everyone. Even those of us who never grew up feel right at home. This space features see through time capsules in the floor, a high-tech computer station, and a blue screen story theater. For all of you good old fashioned library sorts, there are two large reading rooms just inside the entrance. These rooms are complete with built-in wooden bookcases, green glass table lamps, and hushed voices to make you feel right at home.

Throughout July (2008), the Central Library will display the "Bringing Paper to Life" exhibit. These life-size, paper-mache African animals were constructed by residents from four local senior centers. The Central Library is located at 40 E. St. Clair St. It's open Mon - Thur: 9-9, Fri: 9-6, Sat: 9-5, Sun: 1-5. You can access their website at www.imcpl.org/central or call 275-4100 for more information.

After what seems like months on this tour, it's finally time to break for dinner. Join us next issue for food at 14 West and an after dinner art walk down Mass Ave.