I just finished a most hellish two weeks which has been a delightful cocktail of early mornings at work, late nights, microwaveable pasty dinners, and about 12,000 words in assessments. Most of my late nights were spent in the library, where I like to go to escape from home during the day (from which I'll be leaving in a month anyway).
Now I realize that I might sound like an old curmudgeon by saying this, but I still go to the library to do work. Yes, in my day that's what libraries were for, silent studying and independent academic work. But that was long ago. Nowadays, libraries are for fun, games, and socializing. It's a highly social atmosphere, something like a mix between that dusty-book hipster cafe on the corner, a Korean gaming arcade, and a sports bar.
Yes, there isn't much you can't do at the library nowadays. It really is the all-purpose social hotspot. You can have a coffee and chat as loud as you want with your friends. You can play cricket in the stairwell. You can sing out loud if you want. You can make out with your latest fling. You can have a laugh watching YouTube videos with your friends, watch a football game, and check facebook or Weibo on one of the many computers in the library. Of course, if you need to go out for a bite to eat with your friends, you can just put the computer on lock so no one will take it when you leave, and whenever you decide to come back it will be there waiting for you.
Yes, we really are fortunate to have so many resources available to us as students that facilitate good use of time and socialization. It really makes for an enjoyable academic experience, and I was glad to have the hardest two weeks of the semester made easier by my time in the library.
