"We Are An Open Book" by Hornall Anderson

WE ARE an

OPEN BOOK

H O R N A L L A N D E R S O N

New York Seattle London

A Collection of Stories

Copyright 2014 by Hornall Anderson, and the (very nice) people who work there. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America, and more specifically, Seattle, Washington. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any man-ner whatsoever, unless youd like to, in which case, all you have to do is ask us. Totally cool.

1 7 8 2 0 9 4 6 3 5

ISBN 0-12-146785-2

Typeset in Freight Text Pro and Freight Sans Pro by Garage Fonts.

Printed by Hornall Anderson Digital PressWorks, and bound by Puget Bindery in Kent, Washington.

Designed by Leo Raymundo, Jana Nishi, Caitlin Field and Katie Lee.

Written and edited by Shirley Hendrickson.

Illustrations by Rob Zwiebel.

Also by Hornall AndersonHappy Accidents: Hornall Anderson: Three Decades of Design and Discovery

710 2nd Avenue, Suite 1300, Seattle, Washington 98122hornallanderson.com

for the love of ideas

F O R E W O R D

It started with a simple question, in an email. What does the library

mean to you? The responses came in a pixelated flood, immediate and

impassioned. Joy poured unobstructed from every word, whether they

were few or many. What else in our modern existence could evoke this

kind of overwhelming, universal, wondrous feeling, across all ages and

lives and experience? It can only be the library. Its magic cannot be

diminished. As the world wrings its hands in worry about the future

of knowledge, we believe the library will not simply persevere. It will

thrive. Its implicit freedom, its acceptance of all people and ideas, its

tangibility and solidness in an ephemeral digital age, will endure. But

the library will also move and shift along with the shift of the greater

world. It will charge forward, in its unending quest for the expansion of

ideas. Because in the end, the library represents something bigger than

ourselves, something more powerful than can ever be truly expressed.

But we decided to give it a try.

vii

where I discovered

a world bigger than the one

I could see.

The library is the place

Ben Steele

1H O R N A L L A N D E R S O N

2 W E A R E A N O P E N B O O K

Its where we get books for our whole familybooks that allow us to creatively explore togeth-er with our children, or to independently unwind and immerse ourselves.

Within a few blocks of work, I get to pick out new stories for my kids while visiting one of the most interesting buildings in the world.

The Library is an access hub to the world and beyond, through imagination and story.

The Seattle Central Library is my favorite lunchtime retreat.

Rob Zwiebel


My dad signed the back of my first library card because I was so young I couldnt sign it myself.

Katie Polenick

I never got a new one. It still has his signature of my name.


Public library funding was always being cut when I was growing up in Scotland, meaning libraries were either shit or non-existent. Euan Fraser

As such, theyve never really been something Ive thought about a lot or considered a resource. Ive tended to either just buy books or, more recently, download them.

So the Seattle Public Library (or any public library for that matter) represents a massive missed opportunity for me to read, learn, and explore more.


The library, to me, is the Dewey Decimal Systema memory from my childhood. Its also a giant bookstore where all the books are free.

Bruce Stigler

And its a favorite family outing, especially before a road trip. Audiobooks are a must before we hit the road.


Beauty, imagination, knowledge, opportunity

and

Jay Picard

Amy Carter

LIBRARIES STAND FOR THE DEDICATION TO AND THE PERSISTENCE OF KNOWLEDGE.

SHARING IT, CONTRIBUTING TO IT, COLLECTIVELY SHOVING IT DOWN THE NEXT GENERATIONS THROATS ALL PRACTICES AS OLD AS TIME.


Bruce Branson-Meyer

I LOVE THE EGALITARIAN FOUNDATION OF LIBRARIES.

THEY ARE A DREAM INSPIRER, AN INFORMATION RESOURCE, A COMMUNITY BUILDER, A SHELTER FROM THE WEATHERTHERE FOR EVERYONE, FOR FREE.


Vu Nguyen

MY WEDDING PHOTOS WERE TAKEN AT THE SEATTLE CENTRAL LIBRARY.


Jennifer Jacobson

LIBRARIES HAVE ALWAYS MEANT FREEDOM AND ESCAPE.

AND SOMETIMES, THE FREEDOM TO ESCAPE.


Jon Graeff

SINCE I WAS VERY YOUNG, THE LIBRARY HAS BEEN ONE OF THE MOST TANGIBLE BENEFITS OF BELONGING TO A COMMUNITY.


April Melchiode

THE LIBRARY ALWAYS REMINDS ME OF RESEARCH, AND BEING ABLE TO CHECK OUT VHS MOVIES.

KINDA WEIRD, I KNOW.


THE LIBRARY IS A GREAT PLACE TO CHECK OUT BOOKS FOR FREE.

I FREQUENTLY BORROW AUDIOBOOKS FROM THE SEATTLE LIBRARY, AND HAVE RECENTLY DOWNLOADED THE OVERDRIVE APP FOR READING BOOKS ON MY iPHONE.

Wallace Johnson


Kim Kern

I SIGNED UP FOR A LIBRARY CARD TWO YEARS AGO, WHEN I STARTED COMMUTING BY BUS.

THE LIBRARY MAKES MY BUS COMMUTE TOLERABLE. AND EVEN, SOMETIMES, QUITE ENJOYABLE.

THERE ARE TIMES WHEN I DONT WANT MY COMMUTE TO END BECAUSE IM SO WRAPPED UP IN WHAT IM READING.


Unlimited, untapped, potential.

Discovery.

Jesse Baker

Discovery.Libraries, to me, are an American birthright. We see them in the beginning, with Thomas Jefferson donating most of his books to the Library of Congressto share all knowledge, to be equal. Learning new perspectives, sto-ries, and thoughts from the minds of others, without judgment or censorship, is the origi-nal form of open-source knowledge. Some-thing to build upon. An exchange.

In the 1973 dystopian film Soylent Green, overpopulation and the depletion of the Earths resources have left society in a state where nothing from the past functions, including the library. As people struggle to survive each day, the libraries become a refuge for the older citizens who regard knowledge as valuable as food itself. These knowledge keepers are even called books by their unenlightened counterparts. They

David Bates


are the last passionate recipients, the dying carriers of the glorious human collective of thought. They represent the devastating loss of truth and knowledgemuch like the trag-edy of the library of Alexandria.

The digital age, in which people have tran-sitioned to the internet as a source of quick knowledge, lacks this discernible truth we all seek. Like anything, to separate hyperbole from knowledge takes knowledge. And perspective. It takes probing, questioning, contemplation, and challenging the credibil-ity of what is published. The web lacks the appropriate guidance to knowledge or enlightenment that a library implicitly offers.

There are attempts to make libraries more attractive and visually appealing, rebuild-ing them architecturally to attract attention from its patrons. Often, they seem to attract


folk who have less interest in the knowledge libraries are built for and more in their public nature. Many turn to the open accessibility of the library as a rest haven. A retreat, to be warm, to be out of the weather. And, perhaps, to feel safe. To congregate within it, like hud-dling around a bonfire for warmth. To feel a belonging to something bigger.

In spite of how people can so horribly judge one another in this day and age, the library in America is people-agnostic. It rises above this unfortunate human trait. It is the moth-er to those in need. It takes in and comforts many. It provides knowledge, safety and shel-ter. It is the home, or the memory of home, we all yearn for when we need it most.

This is a library to me.


Jana Nishi Yuen

There are two places I go to get away from my kids. One is the local coffee shop, and the other is my neighborhood library. And when I dont want to get away from the kids, its still a great place to take them. Its a great place to get lost, if you have the time. If Google was a brick and mortar, it would be a library.


The library has changed my life, and the lives of my children. When my husband, their father, passed away in May, I leaned on the library to find appropriate books on the topic of loss for my girls. They helped me curate the list and get them to my local branch. I checked them all out and selected the ones I thought would be best for our family. To me, the library is the world as it should bemankind providing for one another, for the betterment of all.

I the library.

Claudia Cisero


Im a staunch supporter of libraries, as an avid reader, a fiction novelist, and a book donor. The library is a virtual passport to faraway places, a secret door to childhood adventures, a vault of endless knowledge. A place that brings together different types of people from different backgrounds with one shared passion: reading.

Christina Arbini


As a child in a strict and conservative household, the library was my way to break free and explore the world, with its vast complexity of people and ideas. Every Saturday, my mother would take us and I would take as many books as they would allow me. By the next Saturday I would have devoured them all, with their crinkly cellophane covers and their smell, that singular old-book smell that doesnt exist anywhere else, like that of a new car, or fresh snow.

In the confines of the library, I was given the freedom to explore every subject and discipline and fascination that came to my head. From great white sharks and the obliteration of Pompeii, to papier-mch puppets and the lost art of napkin folding, to secretly titillating teen novels and my

Shirley Hendrickson


first forays into the classics. Whatever leaped out from the shelf, whatever cover caught my eye, it would go into my stack and my tiny little arms. Books were my literal world.

The library was my great portal, my imagination, my escape.


The library has always been one of my favorite places. As a kid, I would check out the maximum number of books possible to bring with me everywhere. For the long bus and car rides my family took, going to and fro, from town to where we lived. For the weekends. For reading before bed.

Our grumpy-yet-lovable librarian made several calls to my parents throughout my school years when she thought I was reading material too mature for my age, though my parents eventually informed her that I was capable of choosing books on my own (Gullivers Travels? One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest?). Eventually, I got a special dispensation to check out as many books as I wanted at once. At one point my mother told me she was going to find me a smaller backpack, worried Id give

Caitlin Field


myself scoliosis from hauling all of my library treasures around. Naturally, I brought home a book on scoliosis for her.

When I moved to Seattle three years ago, I was fresh out of school and hadnt read for recreation or self-driven interest in a long time. My bank account was hopelessly empty after moving and paying rent, so I got a library card. I cant say enough about how highly I think of the Seattle Public Library. I entertained and bettered myself with the help of its amazingly extensive book, movie and music selection, not to mention their partnerships with Seattle museums, events, speakers, etc., etc., etc. The library (generally speaking and specifically, SPL) is a place near and dear to my heart.


As a kid, I remember trying so hard to memorize my address, in order to be responsible enough to have my own library card. The day I received it was one of the greatest memories of my childhood.

I remember going home with an armful of books, and spending the entire week reading them all.

I remember the library as a place where books came alive. I met my favorite childhood author, Louis Sachar, when he came to my local branch to do a reading of my favorite book, Holes.

Elliott Snyder


I remember taking drawing classes at the library, something that helped solidify my passion for art and design.

I remember sitting on the floor of the library for hours, not even wanting to take the time to get home before I started reading.

All of these moments, from many different libraries, stand in my memory as simply the library. They all bleed together, as a place of wonder, and discovery.


I come from a single parent home of four kidswe didnt have a lot of money. Books were things that were hard to own. The library, miraculously to me at a young age, made books easy to get my hands on. I was allowed to check three out at a time, and when I read them all, I loved going to return them. The drop chute in the wall of the library was like some kind of giant book piggybank that I had extracted the riches from.

I went to summer camps at the library. I loved the furniture there, the reading tables that felt as if they were made just for my little-kid size (because they were). I loved the way my library lookedthe architecture. It was like a big hat. The whole experience just imbued imagination.

Anya Miller-Berg


Later on, in college, I remember nestling into a circular study pod, finding my own literal and figurative space in the library and going deep into some subject I didnt quite understand. I remember being amazed that so much information was physically contained somewhere. The organizational system blew my mind.

I love, love, love the Seattle Central Library. I love the importance placed on its design, its architect, and its presence. It is really one of the only amazing modern buildings in our city. That says a lot. It says we need more. It says that, because the library here is the amazingly designed building that it is, we as a city are the type of city that cares about what it houses.


The circulation of the building is amazing. Moving around that building does so many things, again, literally and figuratively. It takes you higher. The structure can actually pull you out of your comfort zone. Its perspectives change, and so do yours. The detail in the exterior is outstandingthe difficulty involved in lining up each discrete lattice pattern. The exactness expresses a sense of diligence. Of rightness.


I have great memories of the Magnolia Public Library growing up. I will always remember the distinct smell of the old books, and the (what seemed like) 115-year-old librarian. She was the best. Id go there after school to do homework, or to help my grandma find her mystery novels. It was a staple of my childhood.

Laura Running


The Seattle Public Library introduced me to the music of

Leo Raymundo

Miles, Diz,

& Bird.

We always go to the library, and it never ceases to amaze me how long the kids are comfortable staying there.

Judy Dixon


Books, magazines, and videos are the long-standing traditional ways to access knowledge through the library. Fifteen or so years ago, knowledge (and the library) expanded to include the internet. And now, the Seattle Public

Jesse LeDoux

Library has extended even further to include lecture series (the design lecture series last year and early this year was incredible), as well as other talks and events. I see the library as an access point to all knowledge.


Discovery. Imagination. Wonder.

Maxwell Churchill


My family are voracious users of our local library. As a child, I went there for storytime. Throughout my teen years, for research projects. As an adult, for novels and pleasure reading. It became the go-to place to take my own kids for an outing when they were smallamazingly, with the same storytime lady. It was there that they met their elementary-school tutor. Its the place my elderly mother frequents.

The library is a place of knowledge and entertainment, a respite, and a community.

Amy Sigmar


Katie Lee

The library represents a commitment: to provide readily accessible information and resources for everyone, which is one of the best things we can do for this city. Its also the place that allowed my childhood imagination come to life. Whenever I visit the library, I still feel that same electric energy of a million books, just waiting to be devoured.


A quiet place. For great music. For great books.

Matt Frickelton


The libraries are some of the most architecturally stunning buildings in Seattle.

Michael Ausich


For me the library is like Christmas and a birthday,

whenever I need a little

Jonas Land

CELEBRATION

Lee Ann Johnson

M Y M O T H E R L I V E S I N A S M A L L A R I Z O N A T O W N . S H E C O U L D R E A D E - B O O K S O N H E R T A B L E T , B U T I N S T E A D , S H E R E L I E S O N T H E L I B R A R Y , A S A K I N D O F A S O C I A L R I T U A L .

M54 W E A R E A N O P E N B O O K

Julie Hoppner

M Y M O T H E R R E F U S E S T O M O V E A N Y W H E R E T H A T D O E S N T H A V E A G O O D L I B R A R Y S Y S T E M .

I T S O N E O F H E R N O N -N E G O T I A B L E S , A S S H E A N D M Y F A T H E R T R Y T O F I G U R E O U T W H E R E T H E Y W A N T T O S P E N D T H E I R R E T I R E M E N T .

O


Pete Gibson

I A M A N I M P U L S I V E P E R S O N .T H E L I B R A R Y S A P P A N D W E B S I T E A L L O W M E T O Q U E U E U P A N Y B O O K O R A L B U M I H A P P E N T O H E A R A B O U T . I T S W A I T I N G F O R M E O N M Y O W N D I G I T A L S H E L F , W I T H M Y N A M E O N I T , A F E W D A Y S L A T E R .

I L O V E T H A T T H E C O L L E C T I O N I S H U G E A N D T H A T I C A N F I N D M O S T A N Y T H I N G , A N D T H A T I H A V E T H E O P T I O N O F S U G G E S T I N G I T E M S F O R P U R C H A S E I F I C A N T .

T R U T H F U L L Y , I F I H A D T O G O F I N D T H E M A T E R I A L S I N P E R S O N , I W O U L D P R O B A B L Y E N D U P G E T T I N G S I D E T R A C K E D B Y P I Z Z A , O R S O M E T H I N G .

I A M A N I M P U L S I V E P E R S O N .


T H E L I B R A R Y , F O R M E , M E A N S A C C E S S . A C C E S S T O B O O K S , T O M A G A Z I N E S , T O V I D E O S . I T M E A N S D I S C O V E R Y A N E W B O O K , A N E W E - B O O K , A G R E A T D O C U M E N T A R Y , C O U N T L E S S M A G A Z I N E S A N D N E W S P A P E R S , A L L T H E R E F O R M E T O E X P L O R E . I U S U A L L Y G O W I T H N O A G E N D A I N M I N D , W A L K I N G T H E A I S L E S L O O K I N G F O R S O M E T H I N G T H A T C A T C H E S M Y E Y E . I T S A G R E A T W A Y T O E S C A P E T H E C R A Z Y C I T Y L I F E F O R A N H O U R O R T W O . A N D I T S F R E E .

L O V E , L O V E , L O V E O U R L I B R A R Y .

Mandy Robertson

LO

V58 W E A R E A N O P E N B O O K

Angela Gamba

I L E A R N S O M U C H A B O U T M Y C H I L D R E N W H E N W E G O T O T H E L I B R A R Y W H A T T H E Y R E C U R R E N T L Y I N T E R E S T E D I N , W H A T G E T S T H E M E X C I T E D , W H A T T Y P E O F H U M O R M A K E S T H E M L A U G H , A N D W H A T T H E Y S T I L L H A V E Y E T T O A B S O R B A B O U T T H E W O R L D .E


E Kevin RothT O M E , T H E L I B R A R Y S T I L L R E P R E S E N T S T H E U L T I M A T E P L A C E O F K N O W L E D G E . I C A N F I N D P R E T T Y M U C H A N Y T H I N G I N E E D O N T H E W E B , B U T W H E N I R E A L L Y W A N T T O R E S E A R C H A S U B J E C T , N O T H I N G B E A T S A N O L D -S C H O O L S E A R C H A T T H E L I B R A R Y . A C T U A L L Y S I T T I N G D O W N W I T H A P H Y S I C A L R E S O U R C E , C R E A T I N G A L E V E L O F I M M E R S I O N I N T O A T O P I C T H A T I C A N T A C H I E V E E L S E W H E R E .

A N D B Y T H E W A Y , I T S A L S O A G R E A T P L A C E T O B O R R O W M U S I C .


VT H E S E A T T L E P U B L I C L I B R A R Y I S A M A Z I N G . O N E O F T H E B E S T S Y S T E M S I N T H E C O U N T R Y , A N D I U S E I T A L L T H E T I M E F O R B O O K S , F I L M S , A N D M U S I C . I C A N B R O W S E T H E C O L L E C T I O N O N L I N E , H A V E A N Y L O A N A B L E I T E M S E N T T O M Y C L O S E S T B R A N C H , A N D R E T U R N I T T O A N Y B R A N C H T H A T S C O N V E N I E N T F O R M E . V E R Y U S E R - F R I E N D L Y .

Saxon Rawlings

BOK

SO


SO

A feel-good treat for me and my kids. A friendly spot to celebrate a birthday party.

A refuge on a

Lauren DiRusso

rainy day.

WHEN I ponder for a moment, I start feeling nostalgic, and remember the smell of old, dusty books from when I was a kid. There was such delight in going to the library! What luxury, to borrow books!

Nory Emori


THE LIBRARY TO ME:

A refuge as a nerdy kid. A mentor who helped me graduate college with honors. A place I could make connections as a new mom.

A source of joy as my kids now learn to read.

Erin Crosier


Jessixa Bagley

The library means I can go somewhere and get books on a million different subjectsand all for free. Its a great resource for learning to have in our community, for all sorts of people, regardless of who they are.f


I enjoy wandering through a library as if it were a bookstore, but knowing its free to take a book home. I like to look at the choices recommended by patrons and employees. It allows me to read outside of my comfort zone.

Rachel Sparrow

W68 W E A R E A N O P E N B O O K

Heidi Durham

I N E V E R L O V E D and appreciated libraries as much as I did when I was living in Ethiopia for a year and didnt have access to one. Back home, my appreciation exploded. I thought about the impact a library could have on a community

that could certainly use some incredible books to devour.

I came back and fell deeper in love.

A library is opportunity, freedom, adventure, ideas.


The library was an amazing place to start what will be my babys lifelong love of books and music.

Halli Thiel

The baby storytime program is unmatchedMiss Amy, the singing librarian, is a treasure to the new parent community.


B71H O R N A L L A N D E R S O N

Nostalgia. The library brings me back to being a kid, being obsessed with books, and the awe of being surrounded by so many of them.

Laura Masters


Michael Connors

THE LIBRARY IS FREEDOM OF KNOWLEDGE.

That freedom is critical to provide equal access for everyone, regardless of age, political opinion or ability to pay.

Libraries are a truly critical element of our democracy.


Accessibility. History.

ABU NDA NCE.

Paula Cox

NCE.76 W E A R E A N O P E N B O O K

I N D E X

10

47

38

PR Director 59

Account Supervisor 16

Executive Creative Director 1

Senior Designer 11

Project Manager 6

Designer 32

PR Supervisor 28

Presentation Designer 27

Creative Director 22

Designer 36

66

Strategist 5

Executive Producer 70

Group Account Directo 69

Design Director 26

8

HR Director 14

Strategist 20

Designer 45

Office Manager 67

Senior Designer 15

Digital Production Artis 52

44

Senior Designer 55

Designer 49

Designer 4

Senior Producer 60

HR Administrator 19

Account Director 72

Client Development 41

Senior Designer 62

Strateg y Director 54

Senior Designer 42

Account Manager 58

Senior Creative Technologist 50

Designer 46

Design Director 51

73

Strateg y Director 65

Production Manager 74

Executive Assistant 56

Production Designer 68

Senior Designer 3

Digital Production Artist 61

Senior Copywriter 30

Design Director 12

Chief Financial Officer 18


C U R R E N T LY R E A D I N G

A Clash of Kings

to Present by Howard Zinn

A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan

Classic That Explains How Marketing Really

Marketing of All by Seth Godin

An Everlasting Meal by Alice Waters

Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto and Michael Emmerich

by Malcolm Gladwell

Bossypants by Tina Fey

Close to Famous by Joan Bauer

Countdown by Alan Weisman

by Bren Brown

Financial Planning for Dummies by Eric Tyson

by Jeanette Walls

Most Inspiring Presentations by Jeremy Donovan

Huckster by Ron Elgin

I Am A Bunny by Richard Scarry

Inferno by Dan Brown

by Ron Padgett and Joe Brainard

and his Scandalous Duchess by Alison Weir

by Ashley English

to Helping Children with Executive Functioning

by Sheryl Sandberg

of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes

by Marcus Luttrell and Patrick Robinson

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris

Nexus and Crux by Ramez Naam

by Bill Bryson

Poe by Brett Battles and Robert Gregory Browne

Modern Life by Sakyong Mipham

by Michael Moss

Stranger in a Strange Land

Sword of Moses by Dominic Selwood

The Art of Eating

Selling Ideas with Pictures by Dan Roam

by Jeffrey Morgenthaler

The Bartenders Tale by Ivan Doig

The Border Trilogy by Cormac McCarthy

by Daniel James Brown

The Cider House Rules by John Irving

The Circle by Dave Eggers

The Dark Tower series by Stephen King

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

The Giver by Lois Lowry


The History of England in Three Volumes by David Hume

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa

The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver

The Lake by Banana Yoshimoto and Michael Emmerich

Machine and Its Accessories by Ernie Conover

by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter

Really True by Richard Dawkins

by Lev Grossman

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Imaginative Life by Tom Robbins

Time of Wonder by Robert McCloskey

From Dear Sugar by Cheryl Strayed

Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller

Turning for Furniture by Ernie Conover

Ultimate Guide to Kids Play Structures and Tree Houses by Jeff Beneke

Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell

by Maria Semple

Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed

Woodsong by Gary Paulson


"We Are An Open Book" by Hornall Anderson

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