Although I didn’t get it for a few months after I started, I’ve had a staff ID card at the university for a while now… only used it as something I wear sitting in the Windows 11 deployment office. Today, I had a small choir rehearsal on campus after work so I finally got to put it to use for a bit more.

Firstly, I paid a visit to the library. I’ve been meaning to poke my head in for a while but, with an hour or so to kill, it seemed like an ideal opportunity. The card let me through the security gates with no problems. Given that students are starting to arrive back on campus, I was surprised how empty it seemed inside. Perhaps no one has unfinished assignments due at the start of term… or perhaps the deadlines are still too far away? I was on the hunt for the computing section, particularly for items on Python programming. However, the most recent I could find was from 2016 and the main reference manuals were from 2013. In computer terms, that is ancient and a sign of how much of that class of information has moved online.

Back outside, I made my way down to the Design School, where the rehearsal was happening and, again, the card gave me admittance. I’m pretty sure it isn’t an “access all areas” pass but it was nice to be able to breeze into the areas I wanted to visit.