Comments on: The Nursultan Nazarbaev National Library http://registan.net/index.php/2009/08/26/natl-library-nazarbaev/ All Central Asia, All The Time Fri, 25 May 2012 20:24:26 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Michael Hancock http://registan.net/index.php/2009/08/26/natl-library-nazarbaev/comment-page-1/#comment-381885 Michael Hancock Wed, 26 Aug 2009 19:29:23 +0000 http://www.registan.net/?p=9301#comment-381885 My main beef is how easily they play to Kazakh identity, and do it poorly. "Continuing his comments, Thomas Christoffersen said: "The envelope of The National Library transcends the traditional architectural categories such as wall and roof. Like a yurt the wall becomes the roof, which becomes floor, which becomes the wall again"" What? Having slept in and built yurts, I don't recall the roof EVER 'becoming' the floor, or vice versa. The design is very cool and futuristic, but saying it stems from yurts and Kazakh nationality is pretty blatantly patronizing. But still - I hope the stacks are, if not open to the public, at least equipped with copiers and whatnot. My main beef is how easily they play to Kazakh identity, and do it poorly. “Continuing his comments, Thomas Christoffersen said: “The envelope of The National Library transcends the traditional architectural categories such as wall and roof. Like a yurt the wall becomes the roof, which becomes floor, which becomes the wall again”" What? Having slept in and built yurts, I don’t recall the roof EVER ‘becoming’ the floor, or vice versa. The design is very cool and futuristic, but saying it stems from yurts and Kazakh nationality is pretty blatantly patronizing.

But still – I hope the stacks are, if not open to the public, at least equipped with copiers and whatnot.

]]> By: Christian http://registan.net/index.php/2009/08/26/natl-library-nazarbaev/comment-page-1/#comment-381879 Christian Wed, 26 Aug 2009 15:04:09 +0000 http://www.registan.net/?p=9301#comment-381879 Looks like the bulk of the books will be underground. But my question, which I'm sure many other Central Asianists have, is will this be a typical totalitarian post-Soviet library where you can't scan, photograph or photocopy anything because there is an evil little librarian with a Napoleon complex who thinks that the pdf you want to make of 1920s archival notes will be sold in America for millions of dollars and make you famous? Beyond the sarcasm, I wonder if much of the archives (i.e., Russian Turkestan administration) will be transferred here. Looks like the bulk of the books will be underground. But my question, which I’m sure many other Central Asianists have, is will this be a typical totalitarian post-Soviet library where you can’t scan, photograph or photocopy anything because there is an evil little librarian with a Napoleon complex who thinks that the pdf you want to make of 1920s archival notes will be sold in America for millions of dollars and make you famous?

Beyond the sarcasm, I wonder if much of the archives (i.e., Russian Turkestan administration) will be transferred here.

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