O-Week at the Reg

No introduction to campus is complete without a how-to session on all-nighters at the library.

As incoming students roamed the quads this week with bewildered parents or with dormmates whose names they’d only just learned, new arrivals also flooded into Regenstein. On Wednesday afternoon, a pack of 25 or 30 first-year graduate students gathered over by the circulation desk for a librarian-led orientation session and tour. Before getting started, their guide asked if anyone had questions. They did: “How late does the library stay open?” For the most part, he explained, the Reg is open 24 hours a day. Then came the disappointing news: during the weekend, the library closes at 10 p.m. “So on Friday nights,” he said, “you will have to find something else to do.”

Meanwhile, across the room a handful of College first-years were studying the floor plan laying out the library’s collections by subject and call number. Turning to his friend, one tall, skinny kid said, “Let’s go check out the A-Level. I’ve heard that’s a great place to study.” And they shuffled off down the steps.

Lydialyle Gibson

September 24, 2010