The Stacks, baby!

The Stacks can be pretty freakin’ scary. Once, I went there to get some LitHum books, and I felt this great, dark presence looming just over my shoulder. As part of our library review series, Bwog Staffer Timmy Wu reviews Columbia’s favorite haunt/sexy-time place where “the light could not reach.”

Location: The core of Butler Library. Not accessible.

Hours: 9 AM to 11 PM, Monday-Thursday. 9 AM to 9 PM, Friday. 11 AM to 6 PM, Saturday. Noon to 11 PM, Sunday. Note: The Stacks are closed 15 minutes before the circulation desk is. After the closing time, one will not be able to enter the Stacks, but can still exit the Stacks.

Contact: (212) 854-7309, butler@library.columbia.edu

Seats:

Levels: 9 levels (just like Hell, what are the chances?)
Total: 8 seats/ table (On certain floors, there are two tables and on others, only one)
Carrels: N/A
Comfy Chairs: N/A
Computers: 1 or 2 computer(s) on each level
Tables: An average of 12 seats
Seats for Talking: 0 (This is a place for people who want to minimize human interactions.)

Amenities:

• Printers: None.
• Scanners: No scanners.
• Lighting: Incandescent light colder than rest of Butler but nonetheless on the warm side of the color spectrum.
• Chairs: Pretty basic chairs similar to the rest of Butler.
• Outlets: Each seat is allotted two outlets. No USB outlets.
• Computers: About 1 or 2 computer(s) on each level.
• Bathrooms: None.
• Water Fountain: None.
• Food/Drinks: “Library yellow zone” according to the sign at the Stacks’s entrance just beside the circulation desk, meaning that only spill-proof mugs are permitted. (but the Stacks’ covert location could allow one to host a Thanksgiving party inside it without anyone noticing.)
• Windows/View: None. This is a place where the light could not reach.
• Smoking: Sounds like a great way to start a fire. Don’t do it.
• Books: Books are not particularly themed. The Stacks is designed to maximize the use of space and to cram 2 million books within.
• Bonus: When it isn’t finals season of the semester, the Stacks is probably the place where you could always find empty seats. You would often find yourself alone, listening to the sound of your jaw gnawing away the granola and chestnuts that you stole from the nuts bar in Ferris.
• Atmosphere: Everyone is in the Stacks for their own reasons. For some, it is to avoid their exes. For others, it is to avoid everyone. Therefore, the patrons in the Stacks all share a special camaraderie. No one asks about others’ past. Everyone relishes in the very present.
  

  Only the cool kids know…

Favorite Spot: 12th-floor Stacks. The 12th-floor Stacks is normally the least occupied space in Butler, and as one finally decides to venture outside the big bad world, there are some insane views from the 6th-floor windows.
Sincere Advice: Butler is a place to study. Not for this.