The Library Book

by Susan Orlean

No matter how hard the fans spun, the heat in the building defeated them. The administration decided on a policy of closing the library when the temperature rose over 95 degrees—that is, when the inside of the building reached 95 degrees. At 94 and below, it was business as usual. More often than not, the radiators were raging even in the thick of a heat wave. They seemed to have a mind of their own that was unrelated to any thermostat. Patrons sweated. The librarians were miserable. They kept records of the temperature in their departments in order to document the misery and make a formal complaint. For instance, these appeared in the History Department’s record of one beastly June: 6/3. Temperature 78°. in History Department. Building grossly overheated. 6/5. Temperature 81°. Building still grossly overheated. Patrons complaining. 6/6. Temperature 82.5°. Extremely humid and uncomfortable but heat on!!!! 6/10. Temperature 82°. Constant enervating heat 6/11. Temperature 90°. Smog like pea soup. Heat BLASTING! 6/18. Temperature 91°. RIDICULOUS CONDITIONS 6/19. Temperature 89°. HORRID 6/20. Temperature 88°. UNBEARABLE 6/21. Temperature 104°. It is totally ridiculous that people are forced to work under these conditions . . . terrible heat makes this a HELL! . . . This is outrageous. 6/22. Thermometer stolen. Unfortunately, the library was aging exactly when the mood in the city was for anything new, new, new. New neighborhoods, new buildings, and new roads bubbled up, while ...