Monday Evening at the library

What follows is a transcription of what I jotted down in a notebook over the course of an hour. I tried to maintain a spirit of open, receptive observation, as I'm not going in with any strong hypotheses in mind:

10-6-08
5:24 PM

I am immediately self-conscious.

The clop of my shoes - rubber soled they may be - is the loudest sound in here. There is [the] white noise of the ventilation system and some kind of mechanical whirring on top of that, but both are hardly noticable. Every sound the librarian makes - moving her chair, checking out a book (beep - tear) echoes throughout the whole building. There are no carpets. The central hall has a tile floor and the rest of the building has hardwood floors.

I sat down next to an eccentric-looking middle-aged man reading the Herald. The librarian looks like a librarian.

5:33

There are 9 people on the main floor actively using the library. 3 of them are wearing headphones. Others are coming and going.

Clop. Clop. Whirr. Creak.

The sun is setting already and the light is softening. Coughing. Rustling of newspapers.

Dorm-room-quality furniture.

One man in headphones is sleeping in the back.

It is slightly below room temperature and dry.

The ceilings are in the neighborhood of 14'

5:44

The one eccentric middle-aged man has been replaced by another, who sniffles as he reads the same Herald. Another middle-aged man reads the Globe on a couch in front of the fireplace.

Steady stream of people dropping things off.

The man reading the Herald has a pen in his hand and has on the table next to him 2 DVD's and a Novel: "Reign Over Me," "Waitress," and "Phantom Prey," by John Sandford.

The man by the fireplace stopped by just long enough to thumb through the paper and is now leaving.

5:50

This has been a long 25 minutes. Herald man leaves.

I go to the computer. The fonts on the screen are gigantic. Why, yes there is p*rn in the history from today. A sampling (at random):
-Craig's List
-NYC Voter Assistance Commission
-Dutch News
-MySpace
-Port Authority of New York
-Fox News: Global Poll finds Obama Preferred in all Countries but U.S.

Most visited today:
-Somerville Public Library
-GMail
-MySpace
-Craig's List
-Yahoo!
-MSN
-Stuff you Wanted - The Samurai DVD Store

Events today, 10-6:
-3pm - Spider Boxes
-6pm - Learn English
-6:30 - Needlework Group
-7:15 - Learn English
10-7
-11am - Story Time

6pm

I am asked for the machine.

Grandpa is here with his 2 granddaughters at my table. He is thumbing through the Globe while they do their thing.

That computer had its back to the door. Can I check another one [?]

Grandpa was kind enough to put the paper back.

6:04

There are 5 people actively using the library. All are adult males.

It's a Carnegie Library. Maybe your town has one.

6:12

It's thinned out. Only 3 people (men) seated, including me.

6:15

It's getting darker out and colder in here. Let's see where the bathroom is.

The children's room is downstairs. To get to the bathroom, you need to pass through it. It's a basement with murals painted on brick walls. The 2 ladies in the needlework group are down there. It's musty. The bathroom is accessed through a staff area where the door is ajar. The bathroom is out of order. The stairs are worn and creaky.

I went upstairs. It is one large room with a stage against the back wall and stacks on either side of a central seating area. It is also musty and the paint on the ceiling is peeling. There is 60's-style oak-veneer panelling on the walls.

I'm really thirsty and ready to go. There is no water fountain.