Anxious to get started, I scanned the row of lockers for 157 and shot toward it. Two twists of the key and a pair of empty hands later, I stood outside with Janice, who was so impressed with my speed, she examined her cuticles with a frown.

Nicole was the last one out, and I hung back by her to make sure she kept up. The rest of the morning was taken up with the tour and meeting several more staff members whose names I would never remember. Much of the librarians' tour ...