2/5 Andrew T. 5 months ago on Google
The
two
stars
I've
given
are
for
the
content
which
is
held
in
the
archive
-
for
the
systems
to
access
it
and
for
the
attitude
of
the
staff,
I
would
give
less.
Having
navigated
the
endless
process
to
register
online
for
a
reader's
ticket,
I
arrived,
to
be
told
at
the
ground
floor
desk
that
bags
were
not
allowed
(fine;
I
had
none)
and
otherwise
to
go
to
the
first
floor.
Which
I
did.
On
the
first
floor,
I
went
to
the
entrance
for
the
Document
Room
(which
was
where
I
had
been
informed
previously
that
my
booking
was,
to
review
the
documents
I
had
requested)
where
I
was
told
that
I
had
first
to
go
to
another
desk,
in
order
for
my
reader
ticket
to
be
created
(who
knew?
There
were
no
notices
or
directions
anywhere
from
which
this
information
could
have
been
gleaned).
Having
done
this,
I
returned
to
the
entrance
to
the
Document
Room,
where
I
was
now
told
that
outdoor
coats
were
not
allowed
inside,
and
I
would
have
to
go
back
downstairs
to
leave
my
coat
in
a
cloakroom
-
when
I
suggested
that
I
could
have
been
told
this
when
I
had
first
gone
to
the
ground
floor
reception
desk,
the
reply
I
got
was
that
the
staff
at
the
two
desks
work
for
different
organisations,
and
any
idea
that
they
might
communicate
in
order
to
improve
the
customer
experience
was
unthinkable.
I
went
downstairs,
and
eventually
I
located
a
cloakroom,
where
I
emptied
my
coat
pockets
of
all
the
things
I
would
need
for
my
visit,
to
carry
them
instead
by
hand,
and
I
presented
myself
again
at
the
entrance
to
the
Document
Room.
Finally
-
entrance
was
allowed!
I
and
my
colleague
presented
ourselves
at
the
document
retrieval
desk,
where
it
transpired
that
my
documents
were
upstairs
in
the
Map
Room,
whilst
his,
a
related
file,
were
in
the
Document
Room.
When
we
suggested
that
since
both
of
the
requested
files
were
of
interest
to
both
of
us
it
would
be
helpful
if
we
could
both
look
together
at
both
files,
we
were
told
that
this
was
impossible
since
all
the
other
places
at
the
table
in
the
Document
Room
at
which
my
colleague's
place
was
reserved
had
been
taken,
there
would
be
no
space
for
me;
in
the
event,
I
went
with
him
anyway,
and
in
the
yawning
and
sparsely
populated
vastness
of
the
document
room
we
found
that
in
fact
all
of
the
other
places
on
his
table
were
gloriously
empty
(like
most
of
the
rest
of
the
room).
And
so,
I
could
always
have
gone
there,
anyway.
Having
finished
with
that
file,
we
returned
it,
and
we
made
our
way
upstairs
to
the
Map
Room.
At
the
entrance
to
which
I
was
now
told
that
I
could
not
take
my
spectacle
case
into
the
Map
Room;
although,
generously,
I
would
be
allowed
to
have
my
spectacles
with
me.
Faced
with
the
prospect
of
going
all
the
way
back
to
the
ground
floor
cloakroom
in
order
to
deposit
my
spectacle
case
with
my
coat,
I
decided
instead
that
dealing
with
the
rules
and
the
staff
in
this
place
is
just
more
trouble
than
it's
worth.
And
so,
I
left
-
before
I
could
run
into
any
more
petty
and
arbitrary
rules
that
nobody
had
thought
it
appropriate
to
flag
in
advance
(What
next?
No
footwear,
maybe,
or
belts
or
any
metal
objects
having
to
be
removed?)
The
people
who
run
this
place
have
clearly
lost
the
plot,
and
it
seems
to
be
run
for
the
convenience
of
the
staff
over
and
above
any
considerations
of
utility
for
members
of
the
public.
From
what
I
observed
on
my
way
past,
the
cafe
and
the
bookshop
look
fun
-
maybe
I
should
have
stuck
with
those...
