The 10 types of Newcastle students you’ll find in the library

Occasional trips to the library are something every student uni is familiar with, especially during a stressful exam season. Each floor is packed with students, some of whom are studying, whilst the rest of us are just there for a catch-up, but have you ever looked around and noticed the different types of students occupying the uni library? Here are the 10 types of students you’ll find in Newcastle University libraries; maybe you’ll even find yourself in one (I have to admit that I am a mix of a few).

The early bird

This student is a maniac who actually chooses to wake up early to strut to the library and gets a weird kick out of being there first. These students also work best from their favourite little nooks, which is why they’d sacrifice precious sleep in order to catch their spot empty – waiting exclusively for them.

The library squatter

These students only ever visit the library during exam season – trying to cram the whole semester into a few painful nights or finally finish writing seemingly never-ending essays. They may come only during a limited time period each semester, but when they do attend the library they don’t mess around, often pulling all-nighters to get the work submitted. The library squatter can often be found wandering the lonely halls of the Robbo far too late at night, running around at 3am trying to pump up their energy to continue. The squatters leave the library whilst saying “hi” to the early bird who is just commencing their day.

The social butterfly

The butterflies of the student community may have intentions of coming to the library to study but it hardly ever pans out that way. Spotting a familiar friend here and there, they are always saying “hello” to someone else. Whilst some of their friends may be cramming for exams, they end up rotating to different tables to catch up with everyone. A well-intended study date then turns into a social gathering.

The hang-outers

These students usually attend the library in pairs or groups. They are the type of students who don’t necessarily think of the library as a place to study but as a place to hang out in between their lectures. They tend to annoy everyone around with their loud banter and laughing as they carelessly continue to tell each other about their most recent life updates.

The professional snacker

Bringing a small snack to the library is quite normal and acceptable, especially if you plan to spend a few hours there. But the professional snackers among us are on a whole other level. They have no problem basically transporting their whole pantry to their place of study. Bringing a late breakfast, snack, lunch and another snack – all represented in various courses – they put everyone else to shame. Instead of books, these guys bring snacks and lots of them.

The take-out royalty

Properly annoying sometimes, these students use the library as a form of cafeteria. The distant cousin of the professional snacker, they have courses of food, but instead of transporting their pantry, they bring takeout. Usually loud chewers, the “take-out royalty” students top up their annoyance by opening their bag of crisps and crunching them as loud as humanly possible.

The aesthetic chaser

The aesthetically obsessed students turn up fully prepared to study. They set their table, take out their 10 differently coloured highlighters, three pens (just in case), their laptop, their iPad, books and a journal. They put all of us to shame with their preparations. Now, all they have to do is actually study, but obviously only after they post an aesthetically pleasing pic on their Insta.

The browser

Most students who need a book for their essay would throw some keywords into the library search box and proceed to find their books neatly placed in position on the shelves, but not the browser. These are the type of students who find the section they need and then spend their time browsing, reading their annotations, and deciding which to read. They perhaps spend more time browsing for books than needed and despite knowing that they could just opt for a more comfortable route from behind their computer screens, they continue to browse, knowing it will all be worth it once they discover that hidden gem.

The sporadic visitor

These are the types of students that would rather never set a foot in the holy place of knowledge – the library. Yet, there comes a time when every student must give in. The sporadic visitor is therefore only ever spotted when they have to pick up their previously ordered books. What a shame the library can’t deliver them to our doorstep because there are a few students who would love to take up such services.

The asocial genius

These students are the ones who always book a room in advance so they know they will not be disturbed by anyone. Sometimes they handle booking a room for a whole group of people when slaving away on a group project. However, a lot of the time you can find a single person in that quiet room, sketching something on a whiteboard. Usually, chemistry formulas or maths equations but always something quite genius to the regularly mortal student.

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