I’m sitting at the Warren Hood Library on the campus of Belhaven University. Like all libraries, this one is quaint and peaceful. I chose to sit at my favorite section in the very back of the first floor. There are three groups of working stations, all complimented with two desks on each side.

I enjoy sitting at the last one. My desk is made of dark brown wood with a shelf propped on the back of the desk. There are two privacy pieces, on which the left one is carved with scratches that may have been made by a wooden pencil sometime in the past.

The atmosphere here is calm and soothing. It’s quiet enough to concentrate, but loud enough not to get lost in your thoughts. I can hear chatter from the workers at the front desk accompanying students. I can also hear the functioning printers and copiers in the distance. There is a faint sound of keyboard keys tapping.

However, it doesn’t sound like the keyboard keys of a laptop, but the “old fashioned” keys that make slightly harsh sounds when tapped on, indicating that one of the students are using the desktop computers provided by the library in the front.

I can smell old books and dust, a smell I find comfort in. I can also smell the citrus green tea I purchased at the Shoebird Cafe in the Student Center. To the left of me are a set of ten or more bookcases, with what seems like thousands of books on them.

The colors of the books range from brown, to red, to various shades of blue and green. Some have been worn by time, indicated by the numerous tears of the fabric on the top and bottom corners of the books. Some have writing of gold ink on the side. and some have silver. On the side of the bookcases, there are arranged numbers and letters, presumably for location purposes. Some books about law, others about nature, and others about mathematics.

Where do you like to spend your quiet time?