The library after hours: We’re always, always open | Darcey Brixey

Published 11:00 am Friday, July 27, 2012

By Darcy Brixey

Years ago, as an undergrad, a popular study space I haunted was an all-night pancake house. A group of us would get off work and meet over a short stack of buttermilk pancakes or waffles and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.

The dining room crowd would thin out around 10 and by that time we’d be immersed in math, literature or organic chemistry.

On the rare occasion a true all-nighter was needed, the waitresses would let us get up and refill our own coffee mugs. Near midnight the phone would ring and I’d hear the night manager answer, “yes, we are open. We are always, always open.” He had to say this five to six times a night.

If I needed a key piece of information, the library was closed until morning and sometimes the friends who held my hand through math weren’t available. I had nowhere to turn but a pancake house and a pile of text books. It wasn’t always a successful model.

Luckily, libraries aren’t like that anymore. Our databases and downloads are available 24 hours a day. You only need an active KCLS library card number and PIN.

Some of our strongest library users never darken our doorsteps and choose to conduct all business online.

If it’s three a.m. and a quick Google search won’t satisfy your information need, try visiting our database page. These online resources are not websites, they are subscription-only electronic resources like reference books and articles and they are free to library card holders.

If you get stuck in a database, you can log on to chat with an after-hours librarian. That person will connect you with an appropriate database, website or make search suggestions. If polynomials are making your head hurt, online tutors are available until midnight.

Log in to our many databases and collections from the comfort of home or a pancake house. We’ll provide the resources, and you can brew the coffee. We’re always, always open.

Darcy Brixey is the teen services librarian at the Bellevue Library. She’d like to tell you she loves to read, but it’s an expectation of the job.