Ahhh the old fisher library, infamous for so many things. Asthetically it’s known as the toaster because if you’re far enough away it resembles an old toaster. If you’re in first year uni, you’ll know of it as a make out spot, but if you actually go to the stacks this myth is proven incorrect as it’s just too damn dirty up there. Believe it or not but this library was actually closed for quite a long time last year for some serious rehauls. They got rid of all the books and shelves and out in lots of new study tables and computers. For anyone who left in 2010, you’ll feel as though you entered a space oddessey when you walk in now. For studying, it’s a great place. You have separated tables, so you’ll feel all alone. However, hold off singing taylor swift out loud as you’re not really alone. There are power points at every cubicle so your candy crush/music/facebook will never die. The only thing which sucks about the library is the public servant culture. They will constantly remind you of closing times each hour and in the last 10 minutes will ring a bell non-stop. Overall, I love Fisher. Minus the new cook books, it now beats Scitech as a study spot.
Tim O.
Place rating: 4 Sydney, Australia
If you took a picture of Fisher Library and added the sound of a clicking typewriter and text describing political relations between the United States and Russia in the 1980s, you would have a pretty solid opening for your Cold War action movie. The building is a grim black lunchbox with harsh lines; it is almost as though the architect left the design to the last minute and decided to poke some holes in the obelisk from 2001: A Space Odyssey and turned it on its side. Inside is not much better. I’m actually writing this to you from inside the building and I can confirm the spartan furnishings first hand. While the main library area is a little more plush(carpet! Sofas!), the stacks are barren. I am not even sure that the ground is covered in linoleum here. It might just be weird black concrete. Despite this, I have a deep love for Fisher in my heart. My standard place for powering through work, it is almost impossible to come in here and leave without a complete assignment, including footnotes and bibliography. The building is a productivity machine. One of the biggest changes to wrap my mind around was that you don’t go to this library to borrow a book and read. My first visit was something akin to «where exactly is the fiction section?». This is a research library, first and foremost. Of course, if you’re looking to borrow purely for entertainment/enjoyment, Fisher is still stocked with classic and influential novels, and non-fiction across all topics. Students can borrow free of charge, but citizens will have to become paid members.