Golden Edges: The Library

Greetings!

Not too much is new here. I've been enjoying a super quiet weekend, plenty of sleep and relaxation. My roommate Kerry left for Spain for 2.5 weeks this past Thursday and by Saturday, most British students had headed home for the two week break. I attended a ceilidh Friday evening with friends, and have since slept until absurd early afternoon hours (after a few days I'm still unsure why this continues...), read, worked on my second Tudor essay, visited the gym, and watched a good amount of Downton Abbey.

I'll be headed to Berlin and Dresden, Germany early this week to visit my friend Lydia and together we'll head to Vienna, Austria where we'll stay until early next week. I'm looking forward to the trip and have enjoyed gathering small Scottish/British gifts the past week for Lydia and her family whom we'll be staying with.

Earlier today I visited the library. I expected it to be a serious ghost town devoid of students, but there were a fair amount of fourth-years working on dissertations. It was nice to have some company as I researched for my second Tudor essay. My relationship to the St. Andrews library continues to evolve. I've always loved libraries. Growing up, they were a weekly trip undertaken by my mom, brother and I, and when I received my license at sixteen, I remember putting a few dimes in the parking meter in downtown Concord a couple days a week after work or on weekends and spending a half an hour in the public library browsing and checking out books. At Saint Michael's, I loved the library. It was rarely full and I worked on most of my assignments there. At St. Andrews, I've had a slightly different experience. I live about a twenty minute walk from the library which weaves up hills, past golf shops, tourist pubs and dozens of guest houses and inns. It's often very full with a strict 'no food' policy throughout much of the building. Empty seats or places at computers are rare, with long restroom lines at all times. Over time though, I've grown to appreciate the vast resources available in St. Andrews' library that I've never experienced anywhere else. I've been able to check out most any book I desire and access resources and databases from anywhere in the world as a St. Andrews student. Mainly though (when not studying), I love walking along the rows of books.