Thick Description - King Library

If you walk through the legendary Upham Hall, cross the academic quad (being sure, of course, that you don't step on the seal), and continue walking straight, you will soon approach a majestic pillared building at the far end of the quad: King Library. Constructed of typical red brick, much like the rest of campus, one wouldn't think this building any special, but I disagree.  Four floors - if you count the ground floor- of comfort and knowledge. Upon walking up to the front door, one passes through a security system and finds the service desk on your left, the staircase/elevator on your right, and the Howe writing center, the printing center and the reference collection straight ahead. A myriad of minds fills this simple-looking building. Both living, changing minds and those that are merely recorded on a blend of tree pulp and ink. 

In the print center, you can find students looking up books needed for papers, printing homework assignments, or articles for class, as well as other 'important' papers. Farther on in the writing center, computers are used to check Miami-mail, Blackboard, or, yes, even Facebook. Still others actually work on papers, the intended purpose of the writing center. A few students collaborate in whispered tones, helping one another; stuck on an aspect of whatever they may be typing. Others still use the space to quietly study, finding a safe haven in the soft chairs and buzzing educated air. 

Just past the learning center, you'll find the seldom used collection of reference materials. Encyclopedias of every subject fill the shelves. Volumes ranging from general information on various subjects in the same book, to strictly medical encyclopedias listing a myriad of diseases and terms, to other specific field volumes. Dictionaries and Thesauruses accompany their cousins. And farther back are the magazines. Celebrity gossip magazines, People, Star, sports periodicals, and other such leisurely things meshed with The Newyorker, Time, and U.S. News and World Report. Next to those, comes the most fascinating treasure trove I have ever had the leasure to lay my eyes on: newspapers. Not any ordinary newspapers either. Different ethnicities and cultures all blend together to form this type of reference material. The New York Times can be found just as easily as the Moscow Times. Newspapers from a great representation of countries in just as many languages. The Wall Street Journal and something called Die Presse in what I think is German (although I could be mistaken) sit on the shelves, waiting to be perused.

Winding back through the cubicle-like desks and going back to the stairs, One climbs up and faces about a dozen colored posters of smiling faces, both well-known celebrities and Miami celebrities, all advocating the importance of reading. The you arrive on the second floor, and (at least for me) you begin to gape in awe at the sight before you. Rows upon rows upon rows of books. This library houses the largest collection of non-fiction volumes I have ever seen. I know that there are libraries that house a far larger amount of volumes (I am not that naive as to think Miami has the largest), but as far as I am concerned it is a personal haven of endless knowledge waiting to be explored. The stacks are a dewey decimal lover's eden. The shelves so carefully organized so that finding the exact call number that you wrote down downstairs is a piece of cake. Any subject you could think of has at least one tree pulp and ink representative waiting to be opened. From astronomy to Russian political science to journalism to Malcolm X, Robert Frost, Norse mythology, . . . the list goes on and on and on. The books there are not just in English, but there are other languages represented, like Chinese and Spanish. Although not huge, the collection even includes a section strictly for leisure reading. Books to be examined and turned to in times of need: a long lost friend sitting patiently for you to remember.

On the far side of the hall is a quiet study area with more cubicle-like desks that include a perfect reading light and an electrical outlet I might add. A silent area, where you could literally hear a pin drop if the floors were not carpeted. More students sit there with i-pods plugged in, scouring over books, curled up in a chair smiling, or typing away at their computers. Away from all the noise of the residence halls and any interruptions that may occur there. 

On the other wall are about a dozen small rooms used for small group discussions. The rooms each house a long table, a few chairs surrounding it, a white board, and a few dry erase markers. An almost sound proof booth providing a great place for students to either meet up with each other, or to meet with teachers. The rooms are often empty early in the day when classes are being held, but after dinner hours, at least a few of them are filled. And finally the second floor also holds the office for the dean and head librarian, should anyone have a problem that cannot be solved at the service desk.

Moving past the stacks (yes I know it's hard to leave) and heading back to the stairs, climbing to the third and topmost floor. This area is mostly vacant as it is strictly a quiet study area. Desks upon desks, instead of rows and rows of books. Not much to look at, but the answer many students are looking for - a refuge for those who need perfect silence. 

As you go back to descend the stairs however, there is one more floor of the building to be inspected; the ground floor. This level is perhaps the busiest and nosiest of all the floors in King Library, but that's probably due to the coffee served there. More tables dot the hallway leading to the coffee bar, but there is one other room that juts off of the hallway. This room holds a child's wonderland - picture books and puppets and all of their favorite 'literary classics'. While this area may seem just like its for children with all of the games and puzzles, puppets and fairytales, this area contains something somewhat surprising. In this room, you'll find textbooks and books that serve as a guide for creating lesson plans. Books full of ideas and key to an aspiring teacher (much like myself).  

Climbing back up the wide staircase and walking out the door, the air feels different outside. Not just because of the muggyness or the sweat rolling off of the students who've been in the heat all day, but that comforting dusty smell that can only come from a good book is lost. While inside the library, the world seems muted for a while, or at least the volume turned down as low as possible, and if you spend too long in there, the outside world seems hideously loud. The buzzing cicadas annoying and far different from the buzz of wisdom inside the building. So much can be found inside such a place like King and I know that I can't help but to feel comforted looking at its majestic structure and knowing that inside I'll find comfort and peace.