My library has lost its virginity

I am now working in a brand-new library. Before we opened in August, there were some jokes among the staff about how long it would take before we caught students having sex in one of the study rooms.

The answer turned out to be "a little more than two months".

There may well have been students having sex before that, but this was the first couple to be naked on the floor when the night manager was doing her pre-closing sweep of the building.

Our admin assistant said she wished she'd been there, because she could have explained to the young couple that it is not strictly necessary to remove all of your clothing before having sex, and that if one is about to get busy in a semi-public space then it's wise to remain as clothed as you can.

I am not sorry that I wasn't there, but if I had been then I at least would have been ready with the horrible pun I prepared back during the summer:

"Alright kids, break it up, this ain't the Library of CONGRESS!"

It never hurts to be ready with a horrible pun.

Finally my knowledge of Japanese demons comes in handy

I had what was probably my most unusual reference question ever today.

A rather large and somewhat scary young man came in with a friend and asked what we had in the way of Japanese literature. This seemed straightforward enough, but as further conversation revealed he was specifically interested in the oni (demons or ogres) and more specifically was looking for artwork depicting such...because he needed some reference images for a tattoo.

I'm not totally sure if he wanted to GET or GIVE an oni tattoo -- he did have several large tattoos on his arms and legs already, but I later heard him talking to a student worker and it sounded like he actually works at a tattoo parlor.

This guy was lucky he came in on my watch, because I don't think anyone else on staff would have known enough about this particular subject to give him much help. He had a specific type of image in mind (ogre-like oni with large teeth), and said he'd already looked on the Web with no success. We probably spent 45 minutes looking at different books of Japanese artwork. I also found a few good images on ARTstor. None of the pictures were exactly what he wanted, but in the end he went away with 8-10 photocopies or printouts of scrolls and statues depicting oni. Oh yeah, and a Tsukioka Yoshitoshi woodblock print of a Japanese warrior on top of a giant skull with bulging eyes, which I have to admit would make a pretty badass tattoo.

What's funny is that this guy was from out of town, and apparently was not very familiar with the college at all. For all I know he was wandering from library to library looking for anyone who knew anything about depictions of demons in Japanese art, but I guess he finally came to the right place.

Uh oh, they're on to us

I suppose it was inevitable that someone would eventually realize the truth.

Librarians are vampires.

It's nice to have outside confirmation of my theory that IT people are a related subspecies, though.

Happy Hour This Week

Is anyone up for Happy Hour this week? I suggest Wednesday 5:00pm at the Library but would be happy to go elsewhere.