Boxing has its squared circle. The UFC has its octagon. But the RLB outdoes them all with its icosihenagons.
That’s right, the RLB has four 21-sided glass rooms. One of them is used for accounting drop-in tutoring, and the other 3 usually are available as study rooms that can be reserved through the Appointment Tool in MyUB.
However, every Monday at 5:00pm throughout the month of April, the icosihenagon rooms will be converted into an arena to host a single elimination Library MMA tournament. The competition will begin April 1, with the winners advancing to the next round on the following Monday. The tournament with culminate in the championship round on April 29 where the winner will be crowned “Dean of the Library”.
In Library MMA, the competitors are each given a cart full of books which they have to arrange in correct order by Library of Congress Call Number. The match starts with each competitor having one minute to arrange the books followed by a one minute round of full contact combat with the goal of bringing chaos to the opposing bookcart. The rounds alternate until one of the contestants has arranged all of their books in the proper order. Since all 21 walls of an RLB icosihenagon are made of glass, members of the UB community will be able to watch this exciting competition while studying on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the library.
Acting Dean of the Library Jeffrey Hutson thinks the competition for “Dean of the Library” is wide open. “A lot of our books are reshelved by our student workers, so they have a lot more recent experience with arranging books by LC call number than many of our librarians,” Hutson pointed out. It is hoped that the newly crowned Dean of the Library will begin his or her duties July 1.
One of the must read posts of the year! I always look forward to April 1. I’m glad I didn’t have to compete in this way – I never would have made it! Great job on the post and hope all are doing well!