University of Chicago: Harper Memorial Library

Uncirculated
Published by Max Rigot Selling Co.

Postcard Caption:

The University of Chicago is located on the south side, 7 miles from the business center, facing the Midway Plaisance, the campus now covering an area of 95 acres. William Rainey Harper Memorial Library stands at the south end of the grounds.

About this time of year when I was in college, I spent a lot of time either at the Harper Memorial Library or at the Reg, depending on current trends, preparing for finals. Because I was a Humanities major, I was busy reading and writing papers; I had very few exams. When I did have finals, I never did a very good job studying. I was one of those much-reviled students who did well without studying (except in French), so I never learned how. It's one of the reasons I hate advising my current students on study methods. Usually, I send them to the teaching assistant or to the academic help center on campus. But I digress... because UC was a fairly demanding institution, my friends and I usually spent Sundays in the library together. Even though I didn't actually study, I did spend hours and hours reading for my classes. My friends and I would work on our individual projects, sometimes nap, and then we'd go to the cafe for a study break. You never knew who you'd see at the library: I often harbored hopes of running into my crush du jour. I have such fond memories of those afternoons.

Here's a picture of Harper Library taken my first year at the University of Chicago (1991):