Cambridge Public Library Grand Opening: A Beautiful Library for a Great Innovation City

There was music and a sign for Skip Gates’ book. No sign of Sgt. James Crowley or the President.

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Immediately to the right of the main entrance is a cool reading and display area. Just looking at it makes you want to read and think.

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The first floor stacks, inside and to the right of the main entrance—next to the glass-walled reading area in the picture above.

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Glass-enclosed meeting room immediately left of the main entrance. Cool, but makes me think of board meetings.

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Once inside, there is a connecting walkway to the original library structure (Hey, I guess they put the large print books there because it’s the old building). Keep at eye on that glass-walled area to the left.

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Remember that glass-walled area in the previous photo? This is what’s in there. Won’t be open too much longer this year.

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Computer room in the old building. It’s not just for middle-aged white guys.

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Teen lounge (also in the original structure). But where are the teens? (And does that kid have a basketball?)

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The third-floor children’s area, with bamboo floors and cool artwork on the ceiling.

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Author: Robert Buderi

Bob is Xconomy's founder and chairman. He is one of the country's foremost journalists covering business and technology. As a noted author and magazine editor, he is a sought-after commentator on innovation and global competitiveness. Before taking his most recent position as a research fellow in MIT's Center for International Studies, Bob served as Editor in Chief of MIT's Technology Review, then a 10-times-a-year publication with a circulation of 315,000. Bob led the magazine to numerous editorial and design awards and oversaw its expansion into three foreign editions, electronic newsletters, and highly successful conferences. As BusinessWeek's technology editor, he shared in the 1992 National Magazine Award for The Quality Imperative. Bob is the author of four books about technology and innovation. Naval Innovation for the 21st Century (2013) is a post-Cold War account of the Office of Naval Research. Guanxi (2006) focuses on Microsoft's Beijing research lab as a metaphor for global competitiveness. Engines of Tomorrow (2000) describes the evolution of corporate research. The Invention That Changed the World (1996) covered a secret lab at MIT during WWII. Bob served on the Council on Competitiveness-sponsored National Innovation Initiative and is an advisor to the Draper Prize Nominating Committee. He has been a regular guest of CNBC's Strategy Session and has spoken about innovation at many venues, including the Business Council, Amazon, eBay, Google, IBM, and Microsoft.