Finals Week Revisited

Library After Midnight Finals Week

I thought I would add a photo album to Illustrate my posts from finals week. The Posts include:

15. 4:45 AM the Last Night
14. Where will I be Working in Twenty Years?
13. Well its 4:00. Yup that’s what time it is. Don’t ...
12. Die Hard 2
11. Die Hard
10. Where Wise Men Fear to Tread
9. Day Three
8. At first the ALA (American Library Association) wa...
7. Anything, Anytime, Anywhere
6. 2:14 and still awake
5. I am way to tired for Midnight
4. Hi my name is Phil and I am a Biblioholic.
3. The Night Comes to an End
2. Don't get out of the boat!
1. 10:30 Sunday December 10, 2006, The first Night

4:45 AM the Last Night

There is one group. Up on the fourth floor. Being loud playing music (quietly) talking and having a good time. I have had to talk to this same group all week. Tonight it is to darn late, and I am to darn tired to get into a confrontation or scene on the last night. If there is anybody else on that floor and they don’t like the noise the can move to one of the three other empty floors in the building.

Now, I know that some of you librarians are wondering if you will chicken out under fire. Don’t you worry about that, I can assure you that you will all do your duty in a confrontation. That when you put your hand in a pile of confetti that a moment before was the third volume of the Oxford English Dictionary! (Cham – Creeky) You’ll know what to do.

Now it will be my pleasure and my privilege to serve with all of you anywhere anytime.

That’ll be all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDecLiA_Qbw

R Philip Reynolds

Librarian

Well its 4:00. Yup that’s what time it is. Don’t know what else to say. Some people are sleeping and some are studying and some are chatting away like it is the middle of the day. The woman’s bathroom sign is now gone off the third floor in the back. I think guys are stealing them for their dorms or apartments. I think physical plant ought to get a stencil and some spray paint and paint those suckers on their be (oh wait inside words outside words) on there and then just have a little plastic Braille tag underneath. I doubt the tag would be much of a prize for a dorm room, and it would not be a big deal to repaint it each semester if it was just a stencil. Of course if their were to many forms and the cost of the painter was to high I could just got to Wal-Mart get a can of Spray Paint and take care of it. Just give me the word. While I’m at it I could paint some additional signs. Let’s make this a group effort. Everyone think of a good sign to put up in the library and email it to me. Then we will just see where this goes. Ok, nobody tell Tiffany. We don’t want me to get in trouble or something.

Die Hard

I hate Bruce Willis. He always plays such a stud. In the Die hard movies he was ridiculously macho but in Armageddon (spoilers coming) when he rips the suit of his antithesis who is going to marry his daughter so that he can stay on the meteor to trigger the nuclear bomb by hand, that is just way over the top. And then the big guy goes you the man Harry you the man. Now how’s a guy supposed to compete with that. I take my wife to a move looking to have a good time, drink a couple of gallons of coke, eat several cubic meters of popcorn, hear some Aerosmith, maybe put my arm around her? J and then here comes Bruce Willis “the man” after ramroding this whole impossible project during the movie he then sacrifices his life by blowing himself up on a meteor with a nuclear bomb and saves the entire planet. How am I supposed to compete with that? I mean what kind of chance do I have to save the world. Oh hey Linda I saw a squirrel in the road today and slammed on my breaks just in time to save it. Good thing I changed those rotors last week. I mean give me a break. Like Die Hard the building is full of terrorists and he single-handedly kills them all and saves everyone. I’ve been in Nac 9 years and have never seen a terrorist.

Just for the record I want everyone to know. If the library is ever taken over by a band of heavily armed international terrorist who want to steal the OED that I’ll be there to stop them and save the day. Or if NASA ever calls and asks me to fly in the space shuttle to blow up a meteor and save the world, I’m there. I’am all over it. Now its true I didn’t get the dishes completely finished yesterday, but if ninjas break into our house to steal those dirty dishes I’m there. Any way Bruce Willis doesn’t seem like the type that does dishes. I think I need to spend that time resting up for that NASA gig.

Anyway someone ripped the sign off the wall by the women’s bathroom in the back on the second floor and I wasn’t there. Not sure when it happened. I had been coming from the other direction most of the time and tonight I came a different way and saw it. Everybody seems to be getting more and more ancy and irritable and I am hearing a lot of coughing. I think that tomorrow may be a pretty rough night. But hey don’t worry about it man, because I’m there, I’m all over it. I’ll keep an eye on those dishes too.

R Philip Reynolds

The Machine

The Human Search Engine

The Man

The Librarian

Where Wise Men Fear to Tread

Fourth floor Steen Library, encyclopedias, philosophy, religion, history, law, education, music, and a party between the elevators. I have made two trips up there in the last half hour. At least they are on the right floor “HX Socialism; Communism; Anarchism.” I think they have settled down. Some I think I just chased off and some got the idea that either UPD or my self were going to keep coming up there, and some got to hear my speech. I tell them about the vandalism and how if it keeps up they won’t have 24/7 hours anymore, then I tell them that I really don’t care what they do just as long as they 1) Don’t tear anything up, 2) Don’t bother anybody else, 3) Try to keep you clothes on. I don’t know why but there is something about peoples’ pants and being in the library in the middle of the night that just doesn’t work out. I’m not talking about some guy hiding in a corner somewhere. I’m talking about guys and girls of all races out in the open, changing pants, having their pants fall down, getting tears in their pants, I don’t know what is going on but I think we are missing out on some great money making opportunities. We need a stand that sells purple sweat pants with “Steen Library Sweeps Week” on them the library logo. These pants would only be available during dead week and finals. Fleece blankets and purple U shaped airplane pillows should be sold, insulated mugs for cold drinks. Wade and I had this idea of building a deck on the roof or maybe just clearing out the fourth floor adding some lights a DJ a cover charge and some drinks and we would have the hottest club outside of Dallas or Houston. We would just call it The Library and have lights streaming up from the roof. My younger brother Will said that a library in one of his home towns had the local strip club have a “librarian night” where all the girls at the club (not the librarians) dressed up as librarians (or at least started dressed that way) and then gave a portion of the proceeds to the library. They made a fortune. We could do that with that club down by the river. I bet I could take my camera and get a poster session at ALA for that! (I wonder what my travel request should say? I could also get comp time for it and Linda couldn’t complain about me working harder to further my career.) That would also go along with that have a librarian on your desktop ad campaign I keep talking about. I’m telling you it is a winner. We would get lots of attention. Anyway things are quieting down. I should be able to cut my trips around the building back a bit.

Well I think I’ll see if Netflix has a copy of “The Full Monty”

R Philip Reynolds

“I’m to sexy for my shirt”

Librarian

Day Three

Or night three, at this point does it really matter. The natives are restless tonight I cold tell things were edgier when I walked in. It’s more crowded and louder on every floor. The worst being the lobby then the 4^th, 3^rd. and lastly the 2^nd . in front of the elevators especially. Maybe we could move the first row of chairs and tables from around the front bank of elevators? People are more belligerent. It is hard asking one table to be quite when there are 5 or 6 other noisy tables within site. I have to go to each one separately and they usually have a sullen attitude about the ones I haven’t talked to yet. I need a bull horn so I can tell entire sections to shut the xxx (no wait, inside words, outside words) to please keep their voices down. I still have not seen an unreasonable amount of trash considering that the building is completely full. I have pictures but I can’t find my USB cable to connect my memory card drive. No vandalism and no I am not going to check up on people in the bathrooms! The guys will get the wrong idea and the women nowadays are dangerous. They all have tattoos, piercings, pepper spray, or they can just kick my butt. Linda isn’t here to protect me. If someone knows an area to watch let me know. I chased a couple of guys out of a stairwell I saw them go into that I knew led nowhere, but no real trouble just a lot of chatting. I think the stress and the caffeine are building up and it may get worse tomorrow. I may have to look for some library camouflage or wear a ball cap and go under cover as a student. Things could start to get a bit dicey. I’ll have to watch my 6’s. Only a few more klicks to go tonight and I can hit the sack.

This is Ref Base One signing off.

Semper Scholaris Librorum

2:14 and still awake

I had my second can of full throttle. The library would probably double its investment if they just had a stocked fridge of that stuff and some Freetos in my office all the time. Don’t let Tina or ME near it or it will be like Hammy the squirrel in Over the Hedge.

Mach 6 Drink http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFUGMkpnJrU

The building has cleared out a lot. But I see no sleeping or signs of those that are left slowing down. I noticed that a lot more trash has been picked up and put in the garbage instead of being left out. I think I have begun to make some sort of bond with the natives. They appear more docile and cooperative. I brought my camera with me this time around the building. Some were shy and had to be coaxed out of their hiding places while other strutted and thumped their chests demanding that their primitive nobility be recorded for the ages. I quickly made new friends and passed the word about the vandals and damage, and recruited their help in watching for trouble. I don’t know if this will help but I suspect that it has. Word is spreading of the strange silent pale one who stalks the stacks at night.

经册府明皇

Jing Ce Fu Minghuang



Emperor of Clear Bright Understanding of the Classics, Sacred Books, and the Library

I am way to tired for Midnight

The building is packed. I have never seen it so full before. There were some noise and water gun fights on the second floor but apparently UPD was called and it was taken care of. Its times like these that try librarians’ souls. I wonder why I became a librarian. I figured that since I needed to start writing every day, that I would start a couple of Blogs. The serious professional one is not ready yet. The other one you can find at:

http://himynameisphil.blogspot.com/

The Night Comes to an end.

I’m fading fast. The library is clearing out but there are still a good number of natives left. They got Johnson the poor b@$+@rd. I tried to save him put there were to many. I’m down to my last can of Full Throttle. I swear if drink anymore caffeine I’ll puke. I wonder which computer tech they’ll send up to clean my keyboard? So far all has been quiet. I helped some more people get connected and settled some people down and helped some others. Everybody keeps calling me sir and I am not even wearing a tie. I can’t be that old. Anyway there does not appear to be any damage or messes other than what a well used building should have. I am beginning to think that it is not why do we let them make a mess like this during finals but why isn’t the library like this every week.R Philip zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Don't get out of the boat!

Don’t get out of the boat. Or don’t get out of your office. Some had gotten out, way out. For them, their was no turning back. For me, well it would be a long week before I’d find out.

The air outside was thick and heavy with moisture the clouds pregnant with a storm they just couldn’t deliver. It was quiet. Yes to quiet. I could see faculty parking spot after parking spot full of student cars just like it was a normal workday. Slowly trudging through the darkness were misshapen forms of youth lost to hours of parties, carrying huge loads of books and then staying up into the depths of the night to fulfill the inevitable reckoning of assignments and tests that were due the next day. How could people who were once human turn to such a wretched existence?

I entered my sanctuary. It was a balmy 78 outside and a brisk 35 in my office. I gritted my teeth as the cold air bit into my face, but I knew it would keep me sharp and alert, and that a librarian needed, that extra edge, that extra hardness forged in adversity in order to survive.

It was time to leave the office.

I wasn’t prepared for what I saw I doubt that I ever cold be. Everywhere their were students reading text books. Studying, and eating. Laptops sprouted on the tables like clumps of Jonquils in the spring. Their blackened tendrils creeping along the tables, floors, and into the walls, waiting to ensnare the foot of the unwary, waiting to trap and devour them, like some kind of monster from a cheesy sci fi novel.

The binary gods had smiled upon me that evening. My computer and monitors booted right up and connected to that sea of bits and bytes that had no meaning and yet has all meaning. My laptop reached through the air and negotiated with another of its kind. They would again agree to talk to each other. All of the shining idols on my pressed wood alter with their multitude of symbolic icons sprang to life once more. My sacrifice to the priests of the systems temple had once again been accepted.

Others did not have such luck, as I walked the floor I saw scenes of frustration. Scenes of people who could not figure out why when they "mashed the button", the network did not come on. Some, I could help. Others were left to continue in their suffering until the night had once again ended and those that could help rose again to tell them to check their cables.

Their were other scenes that will haunt me throughout my days and beyond. Things I dare not share for fear of harming the faint of heart. I saw students using government documents, and if that is not fearsome enough the documents were on microfiche.

I grow weary. I most look to other tasks now and steel myself for the time when I must again enter the breach.

R Philip Reynolds

Librarian

10:30 Sunday December 10, 2006, The first Night

The time had finally come for me to go. I knew as I sat in my room that day they would be there waiting, drinking coffee, power drinks, and pep pills. Getting stronger and more restless by the hour as grew more and more weary. But for some reason I was drawn forward. Somehow not wanting to see what awaited but also knowing that it was there waiting for me.

I would learn things this week things about people, students, the night, and myself. Some of these things I knew I wasn’t going to like. I stopped at Wal-Mart the very heart of the city and learned that you can by chocolate cheese cake two pieces at a time instead of just one whole one. This was amazing. It meant could stop eating chocolate cheesecake a half a cake at a time. Maybe thing were going to be better than I thought maybe I could learn from these Nacogdochians. However, I knew my destination wasn’t the cookie cutter mercantile world of an old man now lying in his grave. My destination lay to the south. Despite my reluctance I could feel it pulling me, beckoning me, despite my better judgment. I had to know. I had to see with my own eyes the horrors, the tragedy, the scenes of mayhem and destruction that surely awaited me. I had stayed up through several nights sheltering refugees from the angry woman called Katrina. I had later moved the trees and wielded a chainsaw to fight back the onslaught of destruction brought on by Rita, but, was I ready, was I prepared, was I strong enough, ………………………….. for a night at Steen Library?

Only time would tell.

If you don’t hear from me tell my family I loved them.

R Philip Reynolds

Librarian!