Fiji's Tough Library

I went to the library at the University of the South Pacific (USP) today. Man, they're tough (see photo). If I had gone to USP, I'd be broke. For a first noise offense, the library demands a ~$20 fine. Second offense, the fine is doubled. Third offense, suspension of your library card for a month. No bags can be taken in. Books from the Pacific collection must be checked out one at a time and not removed the premises. But, that said, the library is fully intact and things are where you want them to be.

I also found some tidbits in the National Archives from historical colonial documents. For instance, aside from reporting exports of beche-de-mer (sea cucumber) and shells for 1903-1906, they also list exports of bones. And, after the English depleted the birds in Fiji they wanted to close bird hunting for half the year but first needed to determine nesting times. A letter from a 1907 colonial reads: "It is no use asking Fijians, they only know the season for yams, fish, &c; but of birds they know nothing whatever." Too bad they didn't list what they knew of fish (yams I can live without).