The Library Checklist: Discoveries of the Everyday Study Session

By Britni Berg on November 18, 2013

While sitting in the reference room, which has become my new favorite place as of five minutes ago, I realized that this scene could be straight out of a movie. Yes, it is embarrassing that as a sophomore I was still on first-week-freshman status when it came to the ref room (aka I had no idea of its wonders), but I digress. The social structure of the room is utterly stereotypical, to say the least, which really helps with the study distractions that are about to take place. But the Michigan library is just like any campus library, and so by the transitive property–if we want to get real nerdy up in here–this structure can apply to any typical college library.

  1. The row of girls throwing what they know—or wearing it. By no means am I shedding this in a negative light (hey, I’m doing it right now), but if you’ve spotted one girl in her greek letters, chances are another one is not too far off. That is unless the line to get into the ref room at exactly 1:00 AM grows longer than the line at Skeeps on a Thursday night (picture elbow throwing and incessant pushing to snag any available seat) and, unfortunately, the sisters can’t score an entire row to themselves. This situation may also be plausible for large lecture rooms, but that is another article in itself.
  2. The “perfect” seat trick. Getting fooled with this one can really put a damper on someone’s day, especially considering the fact that this person is already spending their day in a library. Here’s how the situation plays out: you spot an open seat. But not any seat–a seat set between two open chairs giving you incredible amounts of arm space and allowing you to spread your books all over the place. (Three seat spaces to be exact.) You check to see if an outlet is under you. Check. Even better that you didn’t just do that awkward peak under the table to find nothing but gum. People would’ve thought you stuck your gum under there, and that’s disgusting. Everything is looking incredible for you right now, until you spot “that” guy.
  3. “That Guy.” There are no physical characteristics that can necessarily fit the description of “that” guy. In fact, “that” guy may even be a girl. This person, lets say, may be occupying a seat close to either side of you, across from you, maybe even kiddy-corner—the possibilities are endless. At first they may not be very noticeable, but as you start getting into your work, they are anything but invisible to you now. They may be viciously tapping their pencil against the wood, repeatedly kicking something under the table, or (and I kid you not, I experienced this first hand the other day) talking to themselves. Yes, in the ref room. The nerve.
  4. And as my personal biggest library go-er pet peeve of all time, I thought this one deserved it’s own category: Music. I envy those that have the advantage of listening to music while studying, but I am not one of those people. I start singing along, lose focus, people start watching me–it’s awkward, to say the least. But if I’m opting out of the music listening during the hours I’m taking out of my free time to spend studying amongst you, I prefer not to be listening to your music. Maybe people are trying to be kind and are thinking that you forgot headphones; they’re just trying to share the wealth. No, I did not forget headphones, but hearing the light beats of another’s music may be more irritating than my sister suddenly believing our closets became combined when I left for school.
  5. And finally, of course, if you’re going to spend your day at the library, you must look the part. Part of fulfilling this role is to clearly stack up on the coffee to increase production. Or whatever kind of pills some have chosen to take before heading off to the library…but let’s stick to coffee. While coffee is probably enhancing your production, those people who’s hands are shaking and eyes creepily look like they’re going to bulge out of their head at any minute: We’re onto you. But as you survey the library grounds, or maybe even peak into the garbage cans if you’re into that sort of thing, coffee cups galore will undoubtedly resemble a small landfill. No wonder there’s always recycling bins in here.

And while these factors may be specifically based off of my attempt to procrastinate any more studying that I should be doing right now, if we’re getting into that whole transitive property thing again (which I would wish to avoid because any type of math makes me cringe), this is most likely acceptable in any typical library.

Needing a study break other than checking Facebook eighteen times (and still having no new notifications)? Scope out your surroundings and see how many factors i’ve provided are eligible to check off the list.

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