Marian the Librarian

I must apologize for the lack of posts in the past few weeks. This semester is proving to be more convoluted than the last. But the spring semester is always more – difficult, busy, quick, crazy, ect. – than the fall semester. It is just “More” in general. My past few weeks have been filled with work – essay after essay. This means that I have been spending most of my time in the library; an exciting life I lead.

Have you ever noticed how awkward the library is? I always feel like the loudest person in the world upon entering one. I think it is because of the stereotypical librarians looking at me over their horn-rimmed glasses – I am constantly in fear of the dreaded “shush”. I walk into the main lobby and as I cross the marble floor (it is always some sort of marble/tile flooring) towards the stairs my shoes suddenly take on a life of their own and become insanely loud. Were my shoes this loud before? How on earth are they making this much noise? And because I have dared to wear loud shoes within the sanctuary of the library, the woman sitting at the information desk looks up and raises an eyebrow, casting a disapproving look at myself in general, but specifically the offending shoes. I somehow manage to make it to the stairs without attracting the attention of the short-term loan book guy (I never know what to call him; is he a book overseer? Or would he prefer guardian of the temporary novels?) and start to tip-toe up the stairs to the second floor. But because this is a library in Northern Ireland and not the US of A I am presented with two problems. 1) I am not familiar with the stair etiquette. In the states, it mirrors the road. You drive on the right, you walk on the right. But we are in Northern Ireland- they drive on the left. The question is – do they also WALK on the left. 2) What floor is classified as the “second floor”? I have found it difficult in the past to discern what level anything is on due the difference between ground floor and first floor. The library is no exception.

Naturally, hilarity follows. I start walking up the stairs on the left, assuming I should follow traffic laws. Immediately I run into someone coming down the stairs. Now I am concerned – is this just a confused student who, like me, is unsure of what side of the stairs to walk on? Or could this be a wise and learned student who has been bestowed the knowledge of the stairs? I move over the right assuming that is where I should be, but then run into another person coming down the stairs. After this it is just a crazy few minutes of me dodging people on the stairs and receiving various strange looks – probably due to the amount of thought I seemed to be putting into walking up the stairs. I make it to the second floor and head for the music section, only to realize that in my haste to get up the stairs I have only made it to the first floor. I decide to forgo the stairs and risk taking the elevator.

I say “risk” because I, like every five year-old, enjoy jumping in the elevator a few seconds before it stops to appreciate the “zero-gravity” feel. This is a past-time that I have enjoyed for years; my favorite memory consists of a school trip to some space museum in Tallahassee. We arrived there early so my mother, to keep us occupied, had us taking the car park elevator up to the top level, jumping for the zero gravity, running down the stairs in the car park to the bottom floor, and then riding the elevator up and doing it all over again. Sometime after that, I was told not to jump in an elevator because I could break it and we would plummet to our death. But I am a risk taker – so I always jump and pray that the elevator can handle it. Anyway, I get it the elevator and am so preoccupied that I unconsciously jumped before it stopped. The two students and reference librarian were very concerned.

Needless to say – I try to avoid the library when it is very busy.