SEVEN DAYS

It is possible to live in the library. It's also possible that after a week of it I will avoid Duke libraries until my 10-year reunion. The biggest challenge was not staying amused (the library is a social place and there are always papers or Hulu shows to attend to), getting restless (the Stairmaster has nothing on running from L2 to the fourth floor a few times), washing up in public restrooms (how is that different from dorm life?) or even getting caught (DukeCard trumps sheet every time). The surprising impossibility was catching some Z's.

Tuesday: I arrived in L2-two floors below ground-via a gray, echoing stairwell. I imagined if I were to wander the stacks I might get stranded and be discovered later as a cobwebbed skeleton. After many hours in the library dungeon, a fluorescent-light and computer-screen induced migraine set in, so I packed up and moved my exploration along. Between the lights, uncomfortable furniture and the beeps of moving stacks, I knew there would be no sleeping in L2.

Wednesday and Thursday: I woke up on the fourth floor of Perkins Library, curled up in two chairs with a pair of running shorts over my face. It was 5 a.m. and, despite the makeshift sleeping mask, it was clear that fluorescent glow doesn't improve with an elevation change. I hadn't slept for more than an hour at a time all night, so I gave up and went home for a shower. There is no sleeping on the fourth floor. I relocated to the Link, which is more comfortable and conducive to productivity. Interestingly, in the library, time passes in the form of pages left to read, and real sleep is elusive. Although I wasn't sleeping in this timeless zone, I was amazed at how many people make purchases from vending machines after 1 a.m. (more than before 1 a.m.). I brought my own cooler to avoid spending more money at von der Heyden Pavilion, but it almost got me kicked out. Just as I fell asleep in a purple Pringle-shaped chair, sweatshirt on backwards with the hood pulled over my face, I woke to a 2:15 a.m. interrogation. "Excuse me. are you a Duke student?" I guess my "ice chest" gave the security guard, Greg Gambrell, the idea I was squatting. Gambrell was kind enough to check on me again at about 6:30 a.m., later informing me the biggest danger in library snoozing is theft. There is no sleeping in the Link.

Friday & Saturday: Friday night and Saturday I worked 11 hours at the Circulation Desk, seven of which were extra shifts. And when the library closed at midnight I had no choice but to go home until 10 a.m.

Sunday: Sunday panic had Perkins and Bostock at near capacity. I spent 30 minutes seeking a study room to transform into a bedroom and couldn't find one. To my surprise, I found a quiet room on the third floor with low lights. until someone discovered the light switch. But the night was still young, so I stayed, determined to turn them back off. I was never given the chance, because there is no sleeping on Perkins 3.