Devil's Advocate: What's Your Favourite Floor of the Library?

Level 1 (Basement) by Poppiena Horsington

Before I get into the nitty gritty, let’s clear something up. If you go to the basement floor with any expectation of genuinely working you have already lost and you should honestly feel a bit embarrassed. This is not the mentality with which you should approach this floor. Simply put, the basement is ‘kiki central’. It is a place to gossip and laugh with friends as your laptop sits lazily in front of you or a site to achieve some heavy eavesdropping. This is what makes it the best place in the library. When I think about how many inside jokes have been forged on that floor, I tear up. Everytime I’m down there I am bound to hear, or indeed utter, a ‘Oh wait I forgot to tell you!’ and again I am overwhelmed with the affection I have for this contained space of anarchy and cheekiness. Thrust into the world of casual catch ups and friendly feuds, this floor is for those who tell people that they spent six hours in the library — without mentioning, of course, that this included a two-hour lunch break. Don’t fret, I see you. Occasionally, everybody needs some time to decompress while maintaining a fallible guise of being productive. Unjudging, it accepts you in any mood, any outfit, or accompanied by anyone. Love it the way that it loves you. 

Level 2 (Ground Floor) by Sam Spendlove

Yes, the ground floor is the first thing you get when you’re going to the Main Library. And, yes, it’s the weirdest floor of the library. It’s as if all the other floors got together and created one floor, but nobody could decide which floor’s rules should apply to it. In some areas, it’s a quiet floor, and in others it’s loud. But therein lies its special power, its ‘Middle Way’. When I was in first year, I felt too afraid to commit fully to my academics. The silence of floors three and four suggested a monastic dedication that’s always been beyond me. Then again, I wasn’t willing to give up altogether — I wasn’t going down to the basement, where my peers were doing somersaults through those plush blue benches and swinging from the light fixtures. The ground floor was like a beautiful train station, boasting good WiFi and the ambient promise of going somewhere else soon enough. People came, people went, and whilst friendly conversation flowed, it didn’t dominate; sometimes, business was being done on the ground floor — interviews for societies, awkward little meet-ups where members of a joint venture talked like corporate drones. Anyways, the bathrooms on the ground floor are the best. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve tried to use the third-floor bathrooms and have found … well, just stick to the ground floor.

Level 3 by Hannah Shiblaq

To put it simply: If you know, you know. The third floor is simply the purgatorial solution to the Main Library’s two extremes: Would you rather be on the over-crowded, debaucherous, (literal) ground-zero of unproductivity? Or among the troupe of Adderall-snorting, 9-to-5-ers on the top floor frying their brains from increased exposure to the sun’s radiation? There exists a happy medium, and it literally lies between the two. And to those of you who boast the fourth-floor’s ‘supremacy,’ their floor plans are nearly identical; yes, I put in the work and research — you basement and ground-floor dwellers should try it out sometimes. Truthfully, apart from its media players, there is nothing that distinguishes it from its downstairs neighbour. In my opinion, it all comes down to that extra ascent made to the top floor where you burned, what, ten calories? Usually when I tell people that I favour the third floor of the library I am hit with an overwhelming wave of confusion and slight disgust: Why the third floor? And yet, in the midst of these nae-sayers, there exists a consistent population of third-floor-favourers who I consistently see opting for the lesser of two evil silent floors. If the third floor is really as bad as all of you say it is, then how come I always see the same people sitting there every day? And what is consistency if not its own form of love. 

Level 4 by Ilaria Freccia

In my four years at St Andrews, I can unequivocally say that the fourth floor of the Main Library is by far superior to all other parts. All four floors are relatively similar in layout. What makes the fourth floor different, however, is the higher ceilings and natural light, allowing you to focus on your work without the crushing weight of hundreds of students’ stress above you. To mediate any stress, all one must do is look out the window for the best views of the town and West Sands (depending on what side you prefer). The fourth floor is also the healthiest option. Travelling to and from the fourth floor requires an additional two flights of stairs from the basement and third floor, and four from the ground floor. This can help avoid some of the risks posed by prolonged sitting and increase blood flow, which can help with focus and productivity. My final argument for the fourth floor is that there is the least room for comfort. There are no sofas, comfy chairs, or booths to rest in. I am not going to the library for fun. If you do, well, you have bigger problems than what floor to pick. If I want to relax and work on a couch, I can do that in the comfort of my own house. The library is meant for hard work and focus, and, given the absence of rest spaces on the fourth floor, there is more room to do both. So, feel how you may, but like it or not, the fourth floor comes out on top.

Illustration by Alice O'Sullivan