Life 206-386-4636
If you ever want to know anything, that’s the number to call—the library’s quick information line. Anything at all. Yes, there’s always Google, but what if you don’t know how to ask your question in the Google search field? What if you like a little human understanding with your research?
The question of the morning: How the hell does the water cooler in the office heat up water so quickly? I was trying to pour hot water into a cup. One or two drops. The jug on top had run out. I replaced the jug. Right away, I press the hot water spigot. Boiling hot water gushes into my cup. How?
I call 386-4636. Dave picks up. I explain my question and describe the water cooler we have. Dave:
We used to have one here. I believe it’s an instant hot water thing. It could be there’s a little hot water tank in there but I don’t think so. Do you know what make and model it is?
Put him on hold, go turn the water cooler around, get down on my hands, find a long number under the word “model”: F323HB040-RW210. No company name on the machine, no discernable logo.
Dave thinks this might be a model number combined with a serial number, does some typing, asks what company provides our water. I tell him it’s All Water. He puts me on hold. A minute or so later he comes back:
OK. Thanks for waiting. I called All Water here in Seattle, and they said if you have hot and cold, the hot side is instant hot water—I don’t know if you’re familiar with instant hot water machines, but they heat the water in copper tubing that’s surrounded by coils, which heats the water almost instantly—but the water in the cold side is held in a little refrigerated tank. If you were to run the cold water tap continuously, when that reservoir is empty, it would become room temperature. They don’t use a hot water tank on the hot side because it would be more expensive to make a whole tank, and you only need a little at a time, as opposied to taking a bath.
Dave, ladies and gentlemen.
Librarian reference staff are in general the finest human beings on the planet. Catalogers and circ staff are pretty awesome too. The best thing about reference librarians is this: not WILL they help you, not only DO they help you, but they are absolutely DYING to help you. Seriously, they want nothing more. And nothing frustrates them more than seeing people who think it would be dumb or rude to ask.