At that moment, only the muffled hum of the air conditioner could be heard. The sound of an air conditioner that had no supposed purpose, the air was as still as dawn and as warm as a summer’s evening. Lack of circulation left the stale air tasting as if you had just eaten an old slice of whole grain wheat bread. If one was to be desperately hungry, a slice of the pumpkin orange colored carpet would accompany the bread quite well. To set the tone of a potentionally gourmet meal, the dim aisles of classic novels would be appropriate for the occasion.
After the meal, if feeling exceptionally adventurous, one could lay in a lone study area placed sporadically throughout the building and gaze up at the slate covered ceiling panels. With the deep, dark spaces between each panel you can imagine seeing straight through into another dimension. The multiple sprinkler heads positioned strategically throughout the portal to a new world will add to the curiosity already teeming from your mind about the possibilities beyond. Will they or won’t they interrupt your thought by the sudden shock of distilled water? Or are the sprinkler heads only there to add to the setting of a spectacular night? These are some of the thoughts churning as a hamster on a wheel in my... mind. I am up close and personal with all that happens here at Eli Oboler Library on the Idaho State University Campus. I am “None to Accompany Me” by Nadine Gordimer, published in 1994.
The last time I was checked out of this library was in April of 2002. Since then I have had plenty of time to create my own opinions about this colossal library. The deafening silence of students studying vigorously for their next exam, creating a calm before the storm effect. The white walls would be blinding if the lighting in the main area didn’t as much create a shadow on the ground. Metal bookcases hold my equals as a tin can would sardines. The atmosphere is undeniably an energy drainer, when someone is there they are...