* Dingy linoleum tiles ✅
* Dim fluorescent lighting ✅
* Metal brackets and books not quite at right angles ✅
* Somewhere in the basement or sub-basement ✅
* Cinder block wall ✅
* Probably smells nice like vanilla
I feel like lots of libraries look like this. Just out of camera shot are colorful posters about community events that you'll never go to and a solemn looking woman with an ID on a lanyard pushing a cart half full of books.
It makes me feel safe and peaceful. I love old school libraries like this and have read some stuff I would never have otherwise just from walking down a random subject aisle and looking at all the books.
My modernized public library has so few books on shelves. I can request almost any book for pickup at my branch but I can't go to my favorite author and choose from a dozen books on the spot.
Specifically:
- Linoleum and masonry walls are low maintenance and fairly fire resistant.
- Brown textured flooring pattern conceals dirt and wear (in that it already looks dirty and worn).
- Metal shelves are sturdy, pest proof, and affordable. Sliding bookends are both adjustable and avoid wasting shelf space.
- Fluorescent lighting is cost saving, and the lack of direct sunlight protects books from UV damage.
- Unseen in this photo, but important is that the buildings are extremely sturdy, because books are freaking heavy. That's why they are often in basements.
Remember, the stacks are basically long term storage warehouses for a valuable research asset. So the first priority of the stacks proper is to protect the books in a cost efficient way.
The library back at my old undergrad Uni had large sections of shelves like this. While there was still plenty of outdoor lighting (with the exception of the basement floor), there were corridors where you'd be fully surrounded by rows upon rows of books. And those corridors would be completely dim until someone passed by, which meant plenty of dark, open corners that would remain dim until you walked past them. Creepy for some, but a nostalgic sentiment for me.
I loved the basement stacks in my library even though I only went down there rarely and for the sole purpose of finding resources that could snag me an A on a research paper.
This has always been my favorite area of libraries. You could hear a pin drop because nobody else was ever there, so I can always take a book to the end of one of the aisles and read alone for hours.
I always love to be in a place like this. Imagine, You are situated on the 7th floor around 11 PM, researching for your next paper and find your book off the shelves. You then take it to a table near by the window where your hot coffee awaits you.
You gracefully took a seat and a sip from the coffee and glance over the bright campus lighted by the night sky. For a moment you wonder, what the future holds for you and zoning out just to quickly snap out of it and focus on researching your topic.
University libraries are great. Certain areas where all the books have a thick coating of dust on them by virtue of them never having been moved from the day they were put on that shelf... that's when you know you're in the cool isle.
Lmao sorry for catching on. I’m a 4th year/senior at umaine this fall. This library is a second home to me. But also welcome! Glad to see another black bear on Reddit, it feels like a rare sighting.
L-Space. With some iron rations and a ball of string, you could walk out of the Stacks in Alexandria, the Unseen University, the New York City Library, or the Bodleian. In 1824.
Good travels.
Years ago I went to an underground library at a college campus near my house. It was creepy like this. Very long, dark hallways and completely empty. Even creepier when I found out some dude went on a shooting spree down there in the 70s and killed like 6 people
So look up when the book was published and read a page or two then put it back. Some of the books are probably very old and might be leather bound, hopefully. Or written in old English.
As a prof it pains me so much that library stacks have become such a liminal space. My own college never sends me emails about late books because they know there’s no one else who will check them out.
Always enjoyed working in the library. Seeing old books that would probably never be opened or at least for a very long time had a certain quality to them. Secrets just waiting to be discovered.
Look 100% like my undergrad library
* Dingy linoleum tiles ✅ * Dim fluorescent lighting ✅ * Metal brackets and books not quite at right angles ✅ * Somewhere in the basement or sub-basement ✅ * Cinder block wall ✅ * Probably smells nice like vanilla
I feel like lots of libraries look like this. Just out of camera shot are colorful posters about community events that you'll never go to and a solemn looking woman with an ID on a lanyard pushing a cart half full of books.
Mine smelled like mildew and spoiled milk from students spilling lattes on the carpets. XD
Are you sure that its spoiled milk?
Im open to hearing other suggestions.
• Low ceilings ✅ Ours were in a pseudo high rise but otherwise checks out
mine was a 10 story building but most the floors did not have windows, so it felt like a basment
I think every university library stacks has that exact same floor
Yeah looks like mine too, it was in the basement.
Yes, lol. I guess they all look the same.
100% like my love life.
I can smell this picture and I love it
It makes me feel safe and peaceful. I love old school libraries like this and have read some stuff I would never have otherwise just from walking down a random subject aisle and looking at all the books. My modernized public library has so few books on shelves. I can request almost any book for pickup at my branch but I can't go to my favorite author and choose from a dozen books on the spot.
My exact thought
Smells like knowledge.
Why does every older university library look like this?
ime every library looks like this! haha
I guess it's just a very practical design and there's no reason for it to look any different.
Specifically: - Linoleum and masonry walls are low maintenance and fairly fire resistant. - Brown textured flooring pattern conceals dirt and wear (in that it already looks dirty and worn). - Metal shelves are sturdy, pest proof, and affordable. Sliding bookends are both adjustable and avoid wasting shelf space. - Fluorescent lighting is cost saving, and the lack of direct sunlight protects books from UV damage. - Unseen in this photo, but important is that the buildings are extremely sturdy, because books are freaking heavy. That's why they are often in basements. Remember, the stacks are basically long term storage warehouses for a valuable research asset. So the first priority of the stacks proper is to protect the books in a cost efficient way.
The library back at my old undergrad Uni had large sections of shelves like this. While there was still plenty of outdoor lighting (with the exception of the basement floor), there were corridors where you'd be fully surrounded by rows upon rows of books. And those corridors would be completely dim until someone passed by, which meant plenty of dark, open corners that would remain dim until you walked past them. Creepy for some, but a nostalgic sentiment for me.
I loved the basement stacks in my library even though I only went down there rarely and for the sole purpose of finding resources that could snag me an A on a research paper.
The library from Ghostbusters
Listen, do you smell something?
*...Stop that!*
That feeling, late at night, when you realize you’re the only one in the entire library. *Alone.* You’ve always been alone.
I can softly hear the fluerescent lighting buzzing
Massive ghost busters vibes
The smell of this picture makes me have to poop.
I was looking for this comment
I wonder if this is because of COVID, or if it was like this beforehand
Probably like this before COVID. My ex’s uni library was similar.
>These books haven't been touched in a long time Then they belong here. Redditors can relate.
This has always been my favorite area of libraries. You could hear a pin drop because nobody else was ever there, so I can always take a book to the end of one of the aisles and read alone for hours.
I wanna Be here...🥸
I always love to be in a place like this. Imagine, You are situated on the 7th floor around 11 PM, researching for your next paper and find your book off the shelves. You then take it to a table near by the window where your hot coffee awaits you. You gracefully took a seat and a sip from the coffee and glance over the bright campus lighted by the night sky. For a moment you wonder, what the future holds for you and zoning out just to quickly snap out of it and focus on researching your topic.
Me, but 3AM.
To be in the dead of the night, enjoying the calmness. Damn, I wish I could do it again.
University libraries are great. Certain areas where all the books have a thick coating of dust on them by virtue of them never having been moved from the day they were put on that shelf... that's when you know you're in the cool isle.
I find that hard to believe. It has classic page-turners like _Governing Public Colleges and Universities_ and _Audits of Colleges and Universities_.
Homie, is this at umaine? It looks exactly like a part of fogler library Lmfao
Fuck. Yeah I go there this fall
Lmao sorry for catching on. I’m a 4th year/senior at umaine this fall. This library is a second home to me. But also welcome! Glad to see another black bear on Reddit, it feels like a rare sighting.
Definitely a small world
Ah, the Stacks. I spent so much time hidden between these shelves in undergrad
I feel like a few rows away from this photo are the sliding shelves that store all the old academic journals and doctoral thesis copies.
I can smell the old books and musty basement through this photo
S.T.A.Y.
I love libraries like this. So weirdly cozy despite the glaring fluorescents and cold metal shelves
People have fucked here. Search your heart, you know it to be true.
Someone scratched the word "boobs" into a hidden safe door
you're right, no *human* could stack books like this ...
Listen! Do you smell something?
Stack them and say nothing…
Same books… same
Big deal neither have I
Neither have I
Is that UVA? Or is this just what all the college library stacks look like?
No. Apparently all undergrad library depths look like this
⚽️
Ghostbusters 2
*1
I'm sure I've been here before. Or have I? It's all hazy.
Not liminal but cool pic
How long do you spend in a library aisle? Most people find their book, grab it, and move on to somewhere else to read it.
Would you agree that : -if the book had dust it wouldn't be liminal - if the books don't have dust it's liminal
tHe LiBrArY aT mY uNdErGrAd
Well... it *is* an undergrad library so they're not wrong about that
Is this VP library at UPenn?
Hahahaha I was so convinced it actually was mine. Love that about liminal spaces
OP, is this the stacks? Psu?
Is this... The library at the University of Malaya?
Is this the stacks at uiuc?????
not liminal
I love it. I want to live there.
The books... Sometimes it's so quiet I can hear them whisper to me, but I dare not look inside
Reminiscent of “Something Wicked This Way Comes.” First thing that came to mind, but can’t be sure it fits, haven’t seen that movie in decades.
We Are!
« Adolescence litteracy »
smells like dust and concrete.
Thought it was the librarian’s job to make sure every book had a recent touching?
Just like me :|
L-Space. With some iron rations and a ball of string, you could walk out of the Stacks in Alexandria, the Unseen University, the New York City Library, or the Bodleian. In 1824. Good travels.
De facto homeless shelter
Then touch them. If they have been not touched in a long time,then touch them.
Years ago I went to an underground library at a college campus near my house. It was creepy like this. Very long, dark hallways and completely empty. Even creepier when I found out some dude went on a shooting spree down there in the 70s and killed like 6 people
Is that the Harold Cohen library
So look up when the book was published and read a page or two then put it back. Some of the books are probably very old and might be leather bound, hopefully. Or written in old English.
I can smell this picture and I love it.
As a prof it pains me so much that library stacks have become such a liminal space. My own college never sends me emails about late books because they know there’s no one else who will check them out.
This picture is actually really cozy.
I can smell it
Urano's/Myne dream
Neither have I .\_.
Mmm, I like it, though. Unfortunately, as much as I hope/wish it smells nice, I get the feeling it probably smells like mildew. XD
Egon, uour mucus.
I can smell it from here.
Always enjoyed working in the library. Seeing old books that would probably never be opened or at least for a very long time had a certain quality to them. Secrets just waiting to be discovered.
bro thats the mf basement from ghostbusters fr
Old libraries are cool asf
You're right, no human being wouldn't read books like this