Object

This one's tough - in my WFH library I have literally zero objects which aren't books/catalogues, and I can't think of anything right now in the rest of the rest of the collection either. Objects usually go to other departments, which makes sense!

One thing I'm missing a bit are my IKEA Fejka plants. I'm no gardener, and real plants are too much of a risk to have near museum objects, because they can encourage pests, so fake ones rule the roost at the library. About £20 saw three mini succulents, a trailing plant and a small shrub which all sit on the library windowsills.

Why bother with them at all? Because real plants have a very positive effect on library spaces, as shown in a number of studies (see this news post from the Moore Library for some links). And okay, I can't clean the air or reduce the effects of Sick Building Syndrome with these plastic beauties. But they add a splash of colour into a very white room otherwise, and who knows? Maybe the clearer thinking, positive feeling and idea-generation effects of real plants aren't just because of the greater oxygen and cleaner air but also because plants cheer people up? That's certainly been the evidence of activity during lockdown - everyone's been busy in their gardens (if they have one)! Even I've planted lavender, tomatoes and sunflowers, and I'm more finger of death than green-fingered!