The British Library apparently fills up in the spring with undergraduates. This means if you don’t get into the ‘brary by 10:00 you will have a hard time finding a locker, and a harder time not getting annoyed at everyone. It’s hard to find seats (though easier in Rare Books and Manuscripts), and there are people doing any number of bizzar things (like trying to bring purses into the reading room, trying to pick up there books before they sit down, gosh knows what else).
Come summer the undergrads will be out and we can all calm down.
Ah, let them be. They’ve obviously got more discipline than the academics who still come strolling in at 1130…
Interestingly, Kevin wants to defend the undergrads. This is a bold move.
As I say in the post, I feel for the undergraduates and any undergraduate who is working legitimately in Hum 1 and 2, Maths and Sciences, et. al., is fair enough.
However, as a person whose graduate program is based out of the British Library, whose supervisors are curators at the British Library, and whose material all dates from before 1700, I resent deeply being unable to get a seat in Rare Books. On Tuesday I’ll have my only remaining chance (of a total of two possible chances) to work with add. 83081 in Manuscripts, and if its as loud with kids not working on manuscripts as it was today, I’ll be pretty put out.
The British Library isn’t necessary for undergraduate degrees, and the rare books reading room certainly isn’t necessary for looking at facebook. I think the BL should be a resource for everyone, and I hear rumor that they’re going to open a reading room for undergraduates which sounds ideal.
While the British Library should be a resource for everyone, it is clearly a unique resource in the world, and keeping the real academics (of which I don’t presume to number myself yet) from seeing the material that exists only in the BL, which they need for their research, is a culpable offense. No, Kevin, while your point is taken, the undergrads are not working hard (I’m sure some are, but they are not as a body), and your meanness to the academics who come at 11:30 (which, I to number among, because I work to support myself in the mornings) does not change my opinion about them.
I take your point, Kevin, but I think you’re being mean and not really appreciating the library for the resource it represents.
Ha, my “point” was a flippant attempt to just take things as they are, I wasn’t defending anyone! Feel better having got that off your chest?