When the lights go out...

Hey, guess what happened on campus today? The power went out. All of it. All over campus. Seems there was a glitch, some transformers attached to the university generator blew and they don't know when it will be back on.

But you know what still worked? The alarm. Telling us the power was off.

Who had the misfortune of telling the students that anything they were working on (using the library computers) was lost? Me! I was at the reference desk.

Questions asked during a campus-wide power outage:

Do you know when it will be back on? (No)

Is it just the library? (No, it's campus wide.) Is there power anywhere on campus? (No, it's campus wide.) So will the lab in Bondurant work? (No, the power outage is campus wide.) Oh.

Will they cancel classes? (I don't know.) Will professors cancel tests? (I don't know.) Wow, this is the best day ever! (And she meant it.)

If I bring in my laptop, will the [electrical] plugs work. (Uh, no.)

On a serious note, when the power goes out in a library it is kind of freaky. It's dark, it echoes, we have lots of nooks and crannies no tot mention mezzanines that are creepy when the power is on. And... elevators. I don't think there was anyone in them, but they have to check all of them to be sure.

I have been told that it is common to find people going at it in the stacks during a power outage.