Finals have ended. Faculty have posted their grades. The circulation desks are swamped with book returns. (Yes, a good reminder of how many books are still checked out – when they come back en masse at the end of the semester!) The library is very quiet. It seems so odd. Sure, it is nice to have a little bit of down time to clear out the to-do list, file paperwork, and prepare for the spring semester. But – it seems so odd. As exhausting as it can be to have thousands of students in the library over the course of a day, it is also inspiring and invigorating. All that learning, growing, thinking, debating, negotiating, etc., going on just last week and now it is just quiet. I miss them already.
I feel the same way whenever the library falls quiet between terms. It’s hard for me to work without the bustle and energy of students.