Academia

Students come and students go. From one year to the next I see an endless parade of eager (and no so eager) students start on the first tentative steps of their academic career. It's all good fun. It is utterly preferable to work in a university library then it is to slog away in a public library. I've seen both these sides of library work. In the public library where I used to work once upon a time, anyone could and would come in, asking me questions about the latest hyped-up novel. I'm very pleased I was out of there by the time the Dan Brown nonsense reared its anti-Catholic head.

Once, a rather irksome lady asked me whether we had any non-fiction books on 'horse whisperers', having just seen a television programme about the popular novel. I had to explain to her that it was too specific a topic to expect a wide array of non-fiction books to be on offer in a local public library.

And the fines. Endless arguing with people about 25 cents late fines. Then there were the Moroccan youths bent on causing trouble by terrrorising staff and members of the public with their criminal predilections. All good fun.

It's so different working in the information services department of one of Britain's foremost universities. Students and staff are polite, friendly and have loads of dosh to pay their fines.

Seriously, it's a nicer environment to work all round. It's stimulating to be at the hub of a place where ideas and science abound.

But I'll be glad when Freshers' Week is over!