While the campus sleeps: Two perspectives on the uniqueness of overnight library work

Abstract

Midnight, by definition, is a period of transition. It’s a quiet moment nestled between sunset and sunrise that universally marks the end of one day and the beginning of another. Most people are asleep at that hour, happily oblivious to this ceremonial passage of time, but we aren’t most people. As third-shift information associates with the Georgia Tech Library, a 24-hour academic library in Atlanta, Georgia, our work schedule is synchronized with the birth of each new day. We are the vampires of the library world, and midnight is our magic hour. We’ve reflected on our eight years as colleagues separately and collectively, and have gathered the following thoughts on what makes the graveyard shift at the library a lovely and distinctive experience.