Aberdeen 4-7.11.2011

Aberdeen seemed to be much the same as it was in August 2007 when I left the city. Though there are some new additions to the town’s infrastructure.

Most importantly the University of Aberdeen has a new library. I gained a first impression of the building at 1am on Saturday morning. The sky was clear and the night cold. Stars were twinkling in the sky and birds were chirping. The building does look magnificent and it’s 21st century exterior is in stark contrast with the mid-20th century buildings nearby some of which seem to have been inspired by Soviet architecture. Obviously what matters more is the question how the library serves the needs of students and researchers.

On Saturday afternoon I ventured inside the new building. The ground floor is spacious and has a service desk for library users and a coffee shop. This spacious feeling is repeated on every floor. Compared with the old library – The Queen Mother Library – there is plenty of seating for students and power sockets for laptops. There are rooms for team work and disabled students. On the seventh floor there is a break room which is facing the North Sea. Ideal place to let the mind wander. The brief visit to the new library gave an impression that it is designed the user in mind and it will serve the students well now and in the future.

Looking through the windows of the QML it is obvious that the old lady has lost her meaning as her shelves are empty and the building is crumbling. The room which had the history books relating to American history (both North and South America) is now almost empty. I still remember doing research for an essay about the Supreme Court of the USA in that room. If I remember correctly the tutor said that the essay was good except the conclusion was too short. But that was a first year essay. QML performed her duties well but the faster they demolish it the better as it really does not look good next to the new library.

The University also has a new museum – King’s Museum. At first I thought that this would tell the history of King’s College. It didn’t. There was an exhibition on curiosities from the University collections. Another exhibition was on the elements – earth, water, fire, air. The museum in small and hopefully they will make better use of the space available and also have something about the history of the University.

Aberdeen looks gorgeous as always – or grey, depending on the point of view. There is an air that the city didn’t suffer that much during the global financial crisis. At least there weren’t that many empty shops which contrast to the reporting in the newspapers during 2008 and 2009 that the High Street shop windows mostly have “to let” signs. Restaurants and cafes were full of people, for example on Saturday afternoon people had to queue in most of the restaurants in the new shopping mall UnionSquare. The people walking in the streets and sitting in restaurants seemed to have survived the financial crisis as there wasn’t an air of doom and gloom.