RadCam Safari: The humans of the library

Let us go you and I

library Radcliffe Camera

As exam season swings into motion, the iconic Radcliffe Camera, situated in the heart of Oxford, becomes a second home for many. Most of us will have spent some time in this building of high IQ numbers and grand texts, embracing the Bodleian experience, but what actually goes on in this place?

As one steps foot into the Radcam, it is very obvious to see why it is considered one of the finest landmarks of British education. It is a place that has hosted some of the most gifted and intellectual minds and continues to do so.

The Radcam truly is a remarkable place; it’s everything you imagined it would be and more, an adventure playground for the bright and the gifted. It’s like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory without the weird bloke in the questionable suit.

A physical workout to get your juices flowing

Yet despite operating as a place of a study, it is a notable large social area with its streams of recognisable faces that pervade the Lower Reading Room; the two minute whispers that turn into wasteful hour long coffee breaks; the brand new water dispenser that attracts crowds of depressed finalists for moments to shoot the shit, all help create a rather distracting environment. It is a place of half-learning and half-truths. We enter in a bid to avoid distractions but when a phone rings we instantly turn our heads around like will.i.am on The Voice.

The various species of this academic environment make excellent viewing, from the social media obsessed fresher eager to tag their friends in the newest release of Park End photos to the glaring DPhil student who looks at you as if you committed a war crime for one too many sneezes. Some further unique characters pervade this area and add considerable depth to my observations:

  • The budding socialite reminiscent of a young George Michael, oozing charm and style with the astonishing ability to wave, smile, wink and nod at various people in one rapid movement. Only ever seen entering or leaving the library.
  • The weary eyed finalist with more stress and discomfort in his eyes than Nigel Farage at a parents’ evening in an East London multicultural school, constantly downing his flask of coffee in a last minute bid to rescue a Desmond.
  • The Union-affiliated-destined-for-a-job-in-the-cabinet girl who gracefully parades across the room armed with the confidence of a very bright future awaiting her.
  • And the sleek and well groomed grad student gracefully climbing the mountainous steps to the Upper Reading Room, giving nothing away with the nerve and guile of a cat burglar.

The Upper Reading Room, where people come and go, makes fascinating analysis in part due to its high levels of sexual tension. The wandering foot that possibly propositions you into a dangerous game of footsie that does not seem as unintentional as their eyes suggest. Do I kick back? Do I dare eat a peach? Or the flirty glances from 30 metres away searching for eyes across the room like a David Beckham cross.

The weather hasn’t helped cool tensions

 

Moreover, this is not your standard college library in which one feels at ease to turn up in kebab stained trackies. The people of the Radcam are very aware of where they are entering and primal instincts kick in as we aim to look our best. It can be a sexual minefield for some, with dangerous liaisons only a few indecent metres away.

Others well aware of the goings on in the Upper Reading Room may seek solace and comfort in the Gladstone Link.  Despite being a frightening room with its ominous lack of windows and soulless atmosphere, it is arguably the best library in the world. Initially daunting, the artificially controlled humidity and fluorescent lights make a great spectacle for the scholars, past and present, almost creating a warm feeling of Stockholm syndrome for many. Essentially, it does what it says on the tin. The shelves that go on for deserts of vast eternity; it’s a place that you are likely to find the reclusive 3rd year from your college you met in freshers’ week, or a good place to hide a corpse.

Who lurks beneath?

Relieving oneself in the Radcam can prove quite difficult for many and requires one to be athletic, careful and approach without trepidation. The slippery steep steps of the toilets that are more slippery than a monkey up a monkey tree give the impression that the University is one clumsy student away from an injury lawsuit.

Fundamentally, the Radcam is what you make of it. The intentions of these observations aim towards providing a window into the inner mechanisms that operate in the Radcam and make it the magnificent institution it is. The impending doom of finals may envelope this epicentre of learning, New Balances, and Macbooks but as one beleaguered finalist waves goodbye to the place, it makes one truly realise that it is a sight to be marvelled.