Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Climate, Controlling the

If the temperature inside your library dips below 67 degrees Fahrenheit (brr!), it is perfectly acceptable to dress like a homeless person and build a bonfire in the nearest recycling bin.

15 comments:

Canadian Girl said...

Is this where the stereotype of the librarian in a cardigan originates? Our information desk is in direct line with the double doors of our entrance and on a cold windy day, the chill sweeps in to envelop us. We've all learned to dress in layers (it doesn't set off the fire alarm the way the bonfires do)!

Anonymous said...

what does hvac mean?

Anonymous said...

It's one thing to put on a cardigan (or light a fire out of superseded tax law reference books) but what do you do when it's 87.5F in the reference room? Besides fall asleep at the desk?

Canadian Girl said...

HVAC = Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning

Anonymous said...

If you decide to build a bonfire and are short on kindling, use the copies of Office 97 Simplified and Netscape Communicator 4.5 for Dummies Quick Reference that your library still holds because one librarian thinks that someone might still need them or that they are good “historical resources”.

P.S., “HVAC” refers to “Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning” systems – the climate control systems for large buildings. [Is this site not wonderful? Snarky and educational.]

Eva said...

I just got reprimanded by the director for wearing my coat at work! If only HE knew this was perfectly acceptable.

Anonymous said...

Layers, people, layers! You must consider us menopausal people!

Anonymous said...

I purchased $15.00 portable electric heater at a bargain outlet store and carry it to whatever desk I'm assigned to.
It has been a godsend.

Anonymous said...

We always have sweaters around the back office... Some of the librarians keep space heaters in their cubicles, too.

Another great tip is keeping a hair dryer around for those days when it's cold and raining. Rather than sit in wet clothes, grab the communal hair dryer and run to the bathroom with it to dry off your sopping clothes. Makes for happier workers, if a little eccentric. At least we're dry and warm!

Anonymous said...

Portable fans are good.

Anonymous said...

Space heaters! We are not allowed to have heaters, heating pads or anything else that might spark a fire since we are a giant box of kindling.

Kevin Musgrove said...

hvac = "hot vapours, arctic cold"

You need to work in a building with the controlling thermostats in the entrance lobby to the sixth-floor car park and the heat output regulators in the cellar. Fur coats all summer and Bermuda shorts at Chrimbo.

Anonymous said...

I'm not a big fan of space heaters. My coworker in the neighboring office used to use one, but it would blow a fuse and take my office with it. It really sucked when working on a server.

Layers might be a solution, but God help you if you release a stray spark in my hard drive from the static your carrying.

Anonymous said...

We are not allowed space heaters, either.

Layers do help, but our system is so old and so unreliable, that we can go from a meat locker to a rain forest within a few feet. It might be hard to explain the constant strip tease of adding and removing layers as one walks through the building.

At the moment, I am sitting in my office wearing a cammie, suit jacket, light-weight outer jacket, and my rain jacket. I'm still freezing. My breath is practically visible and my hands are so cold it's hard to work the keyboard. A few feet away in another office, a colleague is fanning herself because she is ready to expire from heatstroke.

Anonymous said...

I kept warm in my hoodie today, and nobody seemed to care. We 20-something librarians are so fashionable!