Worried that your inability to get out of bed is hindering your work? I am living proof that you can do your course from bed. Let me put your fears to rest… by Nuala Clarke
I should start by saying that I am a very, very lazy person. I could probably win awards for my laziness if I could be bothered to enter myself into the running. I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that I spend 80% of my free time in bed and want for nothing (except maybe a Snickers when my stock runs thin).
Now I know that this lifestyle may baffle some of you more active types. I’m aware that you won’t all share my innate obsession with comfort. I also understand that some of you are cursed with the inability to work from your beds or even your sofas – you have my deepest sympathies.
My old housemate suffered from this affliction. Each morning I would wake at the terrible hour of 6 o’clock to the sounds of her lumbering down the stairs, weighed down by her laptop and countless text books. I’d then pull the duvet up around my head and snuggle deeper into my warm, little nest of comfort.
When I’d reawaken hours later, the memory of her hasty departure would be but a forgotten nightmare of a life without the internet. It could be that I too would have to brave the winds and cold in the dark hours of morning. I too would have to fight tooth and nail to get a seat on the U1 and still end up next to the guy listening to drum and bass at full volume. Then, after such turmoil I’d arrive in the library only to find that my favourite seat had been taken by some girl who even had time to curl her hair that morning (seriously, who would sacrifice 20 precious minutes of sleep to do their hair?!).
But this is not my life, I muse whilst munching on my bowl of Weetos in bed. Of course, I feel bad for my poor, unfortunate housemate. She probably paid a ridiculous amount for her breakfast. She’s probably sat on floor 2, staring into her little pot of oats and wishing for an extra teaspoon of honey. But I don’t want to dwell on that. It’s just depressing. Instead I power up my laptop and reposition my pillows into a backrest.
Now, let it never be said that I am ungrateful to the powers that be. I am fully aware that I owe every lie-in to modern technology; all those times I could turn my music up full volume; every 2 hour break I spent without worrying about those fateful pink slips; I have the library’s online service to thank.
So join me in paying homage to some of the ways that the library has made our lives so much snugglier:
1. With the enormity of the internet and its vast collection of e-Resources, we can peruse an abundance of articles, journals and books at our leisure. Hell, the library catalogue even has an option for only searching e-Resources. It’s as if they know that I won’t even consider actual books that require actual page turning. Even the thought of carrying those 500 page-heavy books home makes me break out in a cold sweat.
2. Now don’t get me wrong, sometimes it is necessary to get one or two books out of the Library once in a while. Yet like an old friend lending a helping hand, the Library provides us less tenacious folks with a simple button to ensure that we never have to venture above the first floor or decipher those mysterious shelf-codes. I’m talking about the ‘Request a hold’ button. That perfect little button which means if the book was borrowed by someone else, it will be returned in a timely fashion and added to the holds shelf in Short Loan by the little library elves. All we have to do is pop in when we happen to be on campus, pick it up and return with it to bed (well within a reasonable time!).
3. But the most beautiful thing of all is the variety of e-resources that the Library offers. After each essay, I proudly scroll down through my bibliography, knowing that once again I have successfully fooled my lecturer into thinking that I have gone the extra mile; just look at all those different types of source, all those different authors so beautifully footnoted. The Library even does your searching for you, locating course extracts: and providing unique, online primary sources for specific modules.
I can’t help but feel a little bit smug when I submit my essay (online, of course), knowing that I did all this without changing out of my moo-moo cow pyjamas. So thank you, e-Library. Thank you.
Am I alone in this? Or do you choose to wear your onesie to the library? How far does your love of all things comfy take priority?
Image: Sophie Esellee/winter books/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
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