Of all the places in the world where one might consider curling up with a good book, The Antarctic Library is probably not the first place that comes to mind. However, second only the comfort of my own dorm room here on The Ice, the Antarctic Library (or amongst McMurdo folk just The Library) is a wonderful place to indulge in some reading, admire McMurdo Art, or simply enjoy that soothing mystery that only libraries seem to have.
Tonight was my first night working a volunteer shift at The Library. I'm signed up to volunteer every other Monday from 6-8 p.m. I decided to volunteer both to provide a service to the community and also to give myself dedicated time to go treasure hunting. As demonstrated by these photos, the first treasure I found was the philosophy section:
The Philosophy Section, copyright 1952
Aristotle, Milton, Kant, Goethe, Marx, Tolstoy
A glorious stamp on each book!
you might even love the fact that we still check
books out to people using that little notecard
and pocket in the back of the book.
Similar to the card catalogue only this file box houses cards for books that have been checked out.
The Libaray is about the size that the Jamestown Elementary School Library was in 1983, which for a "one-room" style school house, was sizeable. Considering the limitations on the availability of just about everything in Antarctica, while the Library is small and modest, it is a true treasure in the middle of a lot of ice. There is a decent selection of books including a travel section and an entire section on Antarctica. 
Books on the South Pole
Library ArtSo, the next time you happen to be in Antarctica on an odd Monday night with nothing to do...come see me in The Library!
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