My Love Affair with Peabody Library
I absolutely love giving tours at Vanderbilt. However, there are a few changes that I think we should make. Okay, there’s one: We should stop in Peabody Library instead of Central Library. Nothing against Central, really we’ve had some great times together, but Peabody Library is truly magical.
I remember the first time I went inside Peabody Library on a student-led tour during orientation. I immediately fell in love. Little did I know, however, the special place it would grow to hold in my heart over the next few semesters. It has everything I would ever want in a library: places that are quiet for intense focus, seminar rooms (with white boards-the teacher in me is literally jumping for joy), and community rooms for when you might want to be more social. My favorite room? That’s easy: the “youth section”, more colloquially known as the “children’s book” section. It’s a room filled with bookshelves on each of the four walls, in addition to one that is half-sized and runs along the center of the room. One half of the room is open space to roam and search for books, but on the other is a set of four big wooden tables with comfortable chairs and a lot of space to spread out.
When I have to be doing homework, there’s no place I’d rather be than at one of those tables. The room is so bright and colorful, without being too distracting so I know I’ll get my work done without feeling like I’ve been in a basement or dungeon all day! I need light! I need color! I need the children’s book room in Peabody Library. It does help that I have had assignments where I’ve needed to use children’s books, but I come for my non-education assignments as well. It’s just totally the right study environment for me. When I want to study for an exam by writing all the key terms on the board then crossing off each one I know I understand, I check out markers at the front desk and take over the seminar room, often with friends from that class so we can study together.
When I want to utilize the mere 40 minutes I have in between classes as much as possible, I run right to a table on the main level, plug my headphones in, and focus. In pretty much any other case, I hit the children’s book room. And it makes me really happy.
Everyone finds his or her own library. And for most people, it’s a different one depending on what you need. Central has some floors that are actually silent. I don’t like those because I feel guilty walking in and making noise by breathing. Alumni Hall (on top of Bamboo Bistro) is not a library, but is so gorgeous that I find myself drawn there just to think how beautiful I must look in the beautiful setting that is around me. It seriously feels like Hogwarts. There are many other non-library study spots that are popular too. It’s fun, especially during finals, to try out all the cool libraries, study rooms, and other spaces that Vanderbilt offers. For some, it’s necessary to keep looking until they find one they will stick with. For me, it keeps studying exciting and my mind sane. (But let’s face it, I always end up in Peabody).
P.S. Central may have captured the heart of Taylor Swift, but Peabody has the love of a way more relatable person: Carly Meyers. I am right here, and I am here for you Peabody. Much love.