Introducing The HumAngle Reading Corner
The office recently got a book-filled corner in addition to bookshelves already adorning some people’s desks. Here, some of the staff share how they feel about it.
I was climbing upstairs for the Monday editorial meeting. I climbed the stairs thinking to myself how I wished HumAngle had elevators. Perhaps one day we will. After climbing the 16 steps to reach the first floor, I was happy because I was halfway to my destination. That’s when I saw it.
In the middle of the first floor was a beautiful reading space. The shelves were beautiful, not the usual type in our local library. The mini library has got twelve shelves, all of which are vertical, half facing upward and the rest downward.
The curious part of me told me to sit on the chairs. I did and they were so soft and comfortable to sit on. There was one on each side, three in total. The best part about the reading corner is that it is located close to the coffee machine. Just imagine reading a book and you don’t need to walk miles to go get your coffee or tea; instead it is right next to you. The books on the shelves looked quite interesting and they were mostly non-fiction. Well, it was also quite sad because I love reading books that are fictional and out of the ordinary.
I am not the only one who has noticed the fine addition to the office.
“I was so excited to see the library corner,” said HumAngle Head of Standards, Hauwa Shaffii Nuhu. But it saddens her that the books can’t be borrowed as she loves reading during the weekend. When I asked her if she was ever going to use the corner, she replied: “I do not have much time to read during working hours and I like eating, so I use my break time to eat.”
(The policy has since been updated and the books can now be borrowed between Wednesdays and Mondays through a logbook.)
The in-house GIS/OSINT specialist, Mansir Muhammed, also had something to say about the library corner. “It is both attractive and functional, I will love to read some of the books there during my break time,” he told me.
I was excited to ask Zubaida Baba Ibrahim, a multimedia reporter, about the reading corner because I noticed how she loves reading books in her leisure time.
“The reading corner is aesthetically pleasing and I love the shelves,” she replied.
However, she exclaimed that she would love to petition for fictional books to have space on the shelves. “The books there are serious and my job makes me read books like that, so I will love to see more books that are fun and playful to at least get me off from what I read every day.”
Not everyone is as excited as Zubaida and Hauwa though.
IT Assistant Khadijah Gidado, for instance, told me, “The reading corner is pretty, but I am not much of a reader. So I don’t think I will ever utilise that part of the office.”
The last person I interviewed about the corner was Chigozie Victor, Head of the Emergency Desk. “I am so excited about the new space in the office,” she said, adding that it would be difficult for her to concentrate while reading the books in the office because she is such a chatty person and would rather take them home.
These are the beautiful reactions to the reading corner and I can’t wait to see more unique things in the office. Perhaps we might get an elevator next Monday, so I don’t have to cry or get exhausted while going upstairs to the boardroom for meetings.
Reported by: Zara Ahmad
Edited by: Hauwa Shaffii Nuhu & ‘Kunle Adebajo
