Clearly, I’m writing this article because I spend too much time in the library (or the gitlib now!), even though as a business major, I really shouldn’t have to. I may not have crazy lab reports to write, or hundreds of math problems to work out, but I still spend most of my time studying and doing homework, often spending more time on it than it really takes. The library is pretty much my happy place, and I’m probably there more than I am in my room.
For those of you who spend over twelve hours a day in there, leaving only for classes, you probably have experienced some of the things I’m talking about. For those of you who think it’s a lot to spend three hours in there, here are some things you’ve probably never learned.
1. Nightly closing announcements:
You’ve gotta love those 11:30 “the library will be closing in 30 minutes” announcements. Eventually, you’ll come to know them by heart and will know how long you can stay until the library actually closes.
2. All the extended study spots:
If you decide not to leave when the library closes, you know the best spots in the basement to hang out until 2 a.m.
3. Hiding spots in the daytime:
Most people tend not to venture beyond the visible tables and cubicles, but some floors have those areas behind the stacks of books (which are rarely checked out by our digital millennial peers) which are ideal when you want a little hideaway.
4. When the bio majors have exams:
I don’t mean to single out the bio majors, but I do know a lot of them from my freshman floor and very often, it’s visible when they have exams, because they are all studying in the lib together surrounded by notes and pictures of cells.
5. What majors people are:
For those people you see often, or even the ones you never see, you’ll figure out what their majors are.
6. How the party was last night:
This is definitely just a weekend thing, but there’ll always be those people talking really loudly on a Sunday afternoon about the crazy party they were at last night and how drunk they were. That’s all really cool, but if you were in the library last night, you probably don’t want to hear about other people’s wild nights, especially not at three in the afternoon.
7. Who’s laid claim to a table:
We all have our favorite spots, and eventually you’ll learn what other people’s favorite places are and know some people as the “basement people” or as “second floor people,” and even if you don’t know the first thing about them, you know when they’ll be in the lib commiserating with you.
8. The anonymous noise complaint procedure:
For all those people who use their outdoor voice indoors, if you don’t want to go up to them, you’ll eventually realize you’d prefer to leave the anonymous noise complaint tip rather than complaining on TCNJ.snap or ignoring it.
9. What the campus looks like from a higher vantage point:
Sure, the top floors of the Towers have a great view of the entire campus, but from some of the library windows, especially those on the upper floors, you can see people walking to their classes and eick, and see them with enough clarity to know who you’re looking at.
10. You are not alone with your stress:
Chances are, everyone else who stays in the lib until odd hours of the night are also experiencing the same concerns, stresses and have exams and papers around the same time as you. Whatever you’re in there for, whether it’s studying, writing or figuring out that chapter that’s been evading you for the past week, someone in there is probably going through exactly what you are.
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