I'm a really nosey person. Listening to other people's conversations is second nature and I'm not proud to admit it. So when I say I've been spending a lot of time in the library lately, I of course mean that I've inventoried the sorts of people who congregate there. This blog is dedicated to them.
You have the students, some elementary school aged others older than me. Mostly though, the demographic is comprised of people studying for standardized tests. Almost no one my age goes to the library to read for fun. The most often tests that I see students studying for are medical exams (nursing, orthopedic specialties, etc.) There are always some high school students studying for the SAT. So far I haven't run into someone else studying for the GRE and LSAT.
The largest group of people appear to be the unemployed. I can tell that they are in fact jobless because they are always looking for work on their laptops. I make up background stories for how they ended up in the library.... That guy over there is only here because his wife still believes that he has a job and is at work right now, but in reality he was fired two weeks ago. Having no where else to go during the day without fear of being found out, he goes to the library to lay low while looking for a new career. If found he can break the news that he's decided to quit and start over in life on a new path.... There is no doubt in my mind that this is the case.
There are also those who don't own computers and come into the library to use theirs. All of the computers are always filled, which soberly reminds me of how many don't have access to the internet.... something which is so important to me. It also makes me feel like the government should subsidize computers for everyone! But that's just the silly person in me talking.
The not-quite-right-in-the-head's. I recently sat across from this guy who narrated his own life. He would narrate his actions out loud, but also give the audience [me] hints regarding plot twists, "Well Dan didn't tell me that the report was due Friday, did he? We'll show him though, I'm going to get this done.. so screw him!" That experience was distracting, uncomfortable, but mostly really fun.
Last but not least, we have the elderly. I live in Florida and upon hearing that most people respond, "Oh, my grandparents live down there!" They ain't kidding let me tell you. There are a lot of old people where I live in particular and in their ripe age they have the luxury of time. With nothing better to do they flock to library to enjoy magazines, figure out those new fangald computers, and maybe catch up on their favorite book-on-tape. They always seem pretty relaxed and kinda make me feel more so as well.
Those are the main groups, but I can't write a tribute to the library without mentioning those who break the most important, the most sacred rule of them all: silence. Well, at least a whisper would suffice, but these few go all out! Talking loudly on their phone in the middle of the reading areas, screaming at their kids who are running through the stacks, and just generally being annoying. Sometimes quiet standbys get involved, one went so far to yell back at a soccer mom complaining loudly about her life on the phone to her girlfriend: "We all don't need to hear about your boring-ass life lady! Shut the hell up!" To which she replied, "Screw you" and then canned it.
Come on guys, we go to the library because it's quiet, (trust me its not for the atmosphere,) so do us a favor and use your indoor voice please?
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