Library or mental asylum?

Now I come to think about it, I haven't blogged about libraries for a good while. So to make amends I am going to tell you about our latest nutter, let's call him Crazy Eddie for anonymity's sake. Crazy Eddie first surfaced last year as a student. He stood out from the usual students immediately as law students normally wear suits, or twin sets, and all to a man/lady carry laptops and fancy briefcases. Crazy Eddie looked like a Psychology student who had entered the wrong room. Some of his other nuances?

1. Complaining. About people typing/breathing/walking too loudly in the Library. Now I certainly applaud stamping on noisy behaviour in a Library, but he takes it to extremes and makes us do his dirty work. And having to tell a Barrister that he is breathing loudly and annoying other users does not go down well. Crazy Eddie don't work well with noise. And on another entertaining occasion, he was refused access to the Library mistakenly by an evening function. The fuss was amazing, persecution complex anyone? Though it could only have happened to him.

2. Being over familiar with the Librarians. This is not a good sign. He made a point of asking us all individually what one of the other staff member's name was, and then dropped it into conversation with the unsuspecting Librarian at random moments. This led to a hilarious team "how does he know our names??" hushed conversation leading to the revelations that the sneaky bugger conned the lot of us. We had to resort to almost superhuman subterfuge to find his name out, yet, to this day, we are too scared to use it.

3. He paces alot. Sighing and huffing (this really takes the biscuit when seen with Point 1), and generally seeming at his wits' end.

4. Random chatty conversation. This is interspaced with Point 3's "do not disturb me, I am a very busy individual" persona. His last chat with me: "hello, your fella works here doesn't he?". Me: "Erm, yes" (as stalker alert goes into amber...)

5. Being a topic over lunch. Crazy Eddie is infamous and everyone knows him, mainly as he has driven them mad with stupid questions. The head honcho quite happily told us all at lunch that Crazy Eddie nearly didn't get accepted, "what with being a reformed drug addict and alcoholic". Too much information surely?! Now I have no problem with any past addictions, in fact it's nice to see someone who hasn't just got where they are coz of Daddy's money and influence around the joint. But he is also just weird.

6. Breaking everything he touches. The number of times Crazy Eddie has come up to the desk saying the computer/printer/photocopier has mysteriously broken is beyond me. He either has the mystic powers of Uri Geller with machines, or he is a jinx.

7. No life. Crazy Eddie is in the Library from morn till night. When we close he goes to another Library that opens till dawn. All weekends too. It can't be healthy, and surely no law course could set so much work?!

Now Crazy Eddie does make the place more interesting in a weird kind of way, but I think there is a very fine line between becoming a genius who astounds the legal world and plain insanity. And given the time he spends in the Library, if it's the latter then we're in line for being held ransom for weeks while he demands airlifts and pizzas and talks us all to death. Or kills us all with mice and printer attachments...