SIBL

The Science Industry and Business Library

I got lucky enough to grab a bus on 42nd street to take me down to 33rd so I could avoid the blazing sun. A few blocks away, on 34th and Madison, is the Science Industry and Business Library (SIBL). It's definitely a business library. The modern architecture feels like a corporate headquarters lobby. Glass walls, wood with black accents, metal and grey stone staircases. The walls are Soft, omnipresent light from the rows of metal light encasements that line the ceiling. It feels like a corporate lobby. The library is moderately busy, with people attentively leaning over laptops and books, the occasional nutcase walking around reading aloud to himself and every now and then bothering library personnel, the usual.

Frankly, I'm most interested in the resources the SIBL has to offer. It has an impressive stash of business oriented books and the library has especially tailored parts of its collection for start-ups. There's an employment center with job search resources, an open microfilm section, large closed stacks, a financial literacy center, and reference sections stocked with market data, U.S. and foreign government documents, patent information, and local law information.

The SIBL is much more organized than the other MML or Schwartzman. There is an array of papers when you first walk in describing all of the Library's resources. The staff aren't overworked, and they're competent. It's pretty easy to find your way around. The bathrooms are also cleaned twice a day. Wow. If you're a student in midtown like myself, I recommend the SIBL as a close place to get some serious studying done.