Checkmate!

There's a giant chess set in the library. No, really. Coach B and I moved the reference section out of the way and set up a giant papier-mache chess set, made by Ms. K's art class, right in the center of the library. It's blue and white, of course, and the finials represent all the different things in which Out-of-Door students can participate: there are basketballs, baseballs, a pink-and-white volleyball, drama masks, a pencil, a paintbrush, musical notes, and naturally, Thor's hammer.

Yesterday there were not one but two chess matches in here. Students asked permission first and moved the pieces very carefully, and played actual chess games. So it's not just public art - it's interactive public art! After the break the pieces will be moved to the tops of the tall book stacks, plus we will have a new display in the glass case by the desk - small works of art by our own students, with art supplies and art books too. As you know, I start teaching the art history class in January, and since it's my display case I get to use it to advertise my wares, so to speak. Hey, we started the year with a lacrosse exhibit - I'm just being fair, right?

Two down, four to go!

Let's see - I had a faint cold feeling at the back of my neck today, so that can mean only one thing: MATH EXAM. And boy, was it. The entire gym, er, Thunderdome, was filled with long tables, three students to a table, plus pencils, calculators and scratch paper. Alas, no lucky trolls or other apotropaica. (Look it up. We have the whole Oxford English Dictionary in print, although I suppose strictly speaking that's not English.)

Math was this morning, followed by science in the afternoon. That seems either to be a sensible packaging of like topics together, or a diabolical plan to menace the non-logical. Whatever! It's 2:45 now, so the bulk of you are done. Tomorrow, English and foreign languages. Friday is reserved for history, plus any extra topics left hanging around, so allegedly we're done by noon, and then the joy begins. Winter break! I can almost taste it. Bet you can, too. After that double helping of exams, of course.

Zero hour

It's exam week. This morning I announced that as promised, the library would be open at 7 a.m. Given that it's Monday I didn't expect too much patronage this morning, and I was right: one customer, for the copy machine only.

I also announced that there would be enforced silence, in order to let studiers study. There's been some trouble with that, so I fear that tomorrow there will have to be some sad detention-bound faces in the crowd. If you'd police yourselves, I wouldn't have to do it. But because you don't, I have the grim task of meting out divine justice, so to speak. Today I also got to eat lunch standing up in Mrs. B's office because apparently there was a soccer game in here last week. I admire high-spiritedness, but only from afar.

Looking for the art history class?

As you know, in addition to being your librarian, I'm also the resident (sole!) art historian. This week I have had the pleasure of meeting many of the students who plan to enroll in the art history class. Some of you inquired about the nature of the course and perhaps thought better of your initial decision, but many decided that the notion of homework and tests wasn't that hard swallow and signed up. The next step is to get the textbook. I didn't put it on Classbook because it's $15 cheaper, or even more, on Amazon. So click here, order your book, and put it under your pillow till January. Get a jump-start with a little osmosis, yeah? More to follow - stay tuned.

Yes you can!

This week I have been pleased to field a number of requests about book borrowing during the winter break. In almost every case, the answer to whatever you're asking is yes. How often does that happen? See if these apply to you:

Can I reserve a book to read over break? Yes!
Can I check things out right now to read over break? Yes!
If it's due during break, can I still keep it? Yes!
Can I renew it if I need more time to read it? Yes!

See? I'm in the wish-fulfillment business. Best part of my job.

Exam week hours

The people have spoken! The consensus seems to be that people would prefer to be in the library earlier rather than later, which makes a certain amount of logical sense: more study time BEFORE the exam, not after. There might be some general exhaustion at the end of the day, too, that sends people right home instead of back to the tables. So from Dec. 15-18 we will be open from 7 a.m. to 4:30, and on Dec. 19 from 7 a.m. to noon. Good luck!

That time of the year . . .

You can feel it in the air - it's the last stretch before final exams later this month. Today is the 3rd, and exam period begins the 17th. I hear from some of my favorite students (you know who you are!) that they would very much appreciate it if the library were open extended hours during exam time. I'm thinking it over. There are only so many hours in the day, and I'm here for quite a few of them already. However, exams are serious and I can certainly appreciate that. So, my question to you, reading public, is this: morning or afternoon? I'm not a morning person, really, but I could be convinced to open up at 7 instead of 7:30. Or, I can keep the library open till about 5:30 if you'd rather. The general impression I got was that morning was preferable, but I thought I would put it to the people and let the masses decide.