Large academic institutions offer almost limitless opportunities for this task. To narrow our focus, let us explore instances of sadomasochism at the university library!

First, we have the Undergraduate Library. Which is under the ground. The story the tour guides tell is that the university wanted to be certain that the light for its historic experimental corn field (I kid you not) remained undisturbed. So this separate library was built underground, with a tunnel connecting it to the main library building. Sadistic indeed.



Below is a view into a courtyard which tantalizes the students with sunlight, and this sad-looking tree. I think this hole in the building may also be the culprit behind the mournful howling sounds one can hear in the library on particularly windy days. Poor acoustics-- a common form of institutional architectural sadism.



For the truly masochistic, this library also offers the delight of compact shelving in some areas. And it's the electric kind rather than the hand-cranked variety-- this is actually more frustrating to use. My usual encounters with these devices go like this:

1) push button to reset already open aisle
2) push button to open new aisle and reveal desired books
3) wait, fail to get books
4) repeat several times until success is achieved, someone who has mastered the trick helps me, or I decide I don't really want these particular books badly enough

For extra bonus sadism, the graphic novels are trapped in here.



The card catalog. It's still here, and still necessary for access to certain information about some older materials. I am young and thus do not truly grok its use, but I occasionally experience a certain masochistic desire to explore its murky and politically incorrect (it is a treasure trove of outdated and inappropriate subject headings) depths.



Now, cataloging is a wonderous useful thing, but when I consider that these are only a few of the many books of cataloging rules on these shelves, I think it takes a bit of a masochistic streak to do this job...



And possibly a sadistic streak, if the condition of this set of cataloging rule interpretations from the Library of Congress is any indication.



And now we shall explore the most blatant instance of sadomasochism at the library... the main stacks! They are dark and scary. Everyone complains about them, some secretly enjoy the ambiance.



This sign informs us that the map that might otherwise tell us where books are is outdated because books are being shifted. Truly diabolical. I enjoyed wandering the labyrinth today, as I was not in a hurry. I was almost disappointed that I found the book I'd selected (to give this trip that authentic touch) so quickly.



Another disturbing feature of the stacks are these grim-looking graduate study carrels. Some of them are actually in use, including this particularly creepy example. I assume that only great desperation for a quiet office or a truly masochistic love of this dark, grim, ambiance (or perhaps some even darker interest) would drive a student to claim one of these for their own. Rumor has it that some even enjoy the fact that there is not reliable wifi reception back here-- an extreme form of masochism.



And last, we have some particularly disturbing institutional propaganda, warning of the dangers of wandering campus or leaving the library alone at night:


Um... safeword?