Full House

Every single computer is in use both upstairs, downstairs in the information commons, and in the 24 hour lab. Students are hunkered down, typing furiously, slogging through the required number of pages, stacks of books and printed articles surrounding them. Chatter is non existent.

I hear the constant whirr of the printer and the soft beep-beep of the compact shelving as students search for books, for bound journal volumes, needing to connect with the full text NOW, not able to wait until they can get it through Inter Library Loan. The intensity is palpable. Deadlines loom, but there is still time. We are not yet desperate.

Questions flood the reference desk - how delightful! I love helping people connect with the resources they need, smile at their relief when we do find the necessary 7 articles on the exact topic they have selected. The tables behind reference are flowing over with a wonderful mix of graduate students, adult learners, undergraduate students, faculty!

We seldom come together like this. It does my heart good to realize that we are nearly at capacity. Between bodies moving and bodies sitting and groups clustered, there is not much free space. Despite the fullness, noise is not an issue. We are focused, occupied with separate worlds of interest from history to nursing to business statistics to theology. Each one immersed in their corner of life changing research.

I love a full house. I love the steady pounding of keyboards, the stacks of materials, the concentration. This semester it is occurring more often than I remember from past semesters. May this be the beginning of a delightful trend!