One Saturday during my freshman year I was walking around the third floor of McCabe library looking for somewhere to study. I had gone behind the stacks and ended up walking by a long line of carrels that all seemed to be devoted to a specific person’s books. I was confused – how can one person keep their material in a carrel? And how can I get one?
A final thesis is not a required part of a Swarthmore education, but many seniors do end up writing a thesis during their senior year. In order to facilitate that work, the libraries allow seniors to reserve a carrel for the duration of their thesis work, for either a semester or a whole year. There are thesis carrels in all three of the libraries on campus, for students in the respective discipline of the library. The McCabe thesis carrels, though, I saw every weekend for two years. Once you start working on a serious project, you accumulate a lot of books. And those books become very cumbersome to carry around campus as you work in various places. I coveted a thesis carrel my whole time here, but especially once I started working on my thesis. Finally, my senior year, I got one. And I didn’t get just any carrel – you get to pick your carrel, and I picked a spot with coat hangers on the wall, with a window looking out at a beautiful tree, in a line with three of my close friends who are also writing history theses.
I spend probably two to ten hours a day in my carrel. Working on my thesis, yes, but also chatting with friends, watching shows, having snacks, drinking tea – it becomes a kind of second home, and the carrel itself changes to reflect that. So here’s a little tour of everything that has accumulated in my carrel with some explanation behind it!
First: We have books. Lots of them. My thesis is about the institutionalization of the Gombe Stream Research Center, where Jane Goodall conducted her groundbreaking research on chimpanzees. The books at my carrel are a mix of books on the history of game parks in Africa, books on and by Jane Goodall, books on the history of primatology in the last hundred years, and some more general history of science books that offer helpful frameworks. Here is a photo of me bringing up my stacks of thesis books when I finally got my carrel – it was wonderful to finally have somewhere to put all of them! And there’s nothing more wonderful than needing to find a fact or idea you remember and being able to grab the book immediately and find it.
Second: The sticky notes! One of the really fun things about carrels is that your friends know you spend a lot of time there, so they have taken to leaving notes (or tiny drawings of dinosaurs) on my carrel for me to find. You can also see the tag that labels my carrel as mine for the year, and the tag that says “thesis carrel” with a number so it can be identified. I also have sticky notes down on the desk, which are partially for my friends to leave notes but mostly to mark up the library books with ideas and questions as I read them.
Third: Tissues and a mug. I have had a cold for the past week or so, but one of my favorite things about McCabe is that they stock tea in the kitchen downstairs and there is always boiling water. So while I’m working on my thesis, I can have a nice mug of tea next to me, along with a tissue box in case I have to blow my nose.
Fourth: Flowers! Most people end up adding a little something to their carrel to personalize it and brighten it up a little, and for me that’s a little vase of flowers. I really like the view out of the window next to my carrel, but at night it can still get a little dark and depressing, so it’s nice to have something bright and cheery.
Fifth: Snacks. Spending so much time at the carrel means it’s important to have sustenance! I like having a little bag of pretzels and an apple just in case I need a snack and don’t have the time to run to the science center or the dining hall.
