Have you met Alice?

Alice is a stapler. Alice enjoys her job - stapling.  It's a simple life, but that's ok. Because that's what Alice was made to do.

Alice is the latest in a long line of staplers that have worked in the Arthur Holt Library. Over the years these walls have bore witness to countless multitudes arriving one after another - standard models from Officeworks, heavy-duty workers from Bunnings, lime-green toys from Smiggle. Nameless, mechanical helpers who gallantly gave their all to keep your stuff in order. Some couldn't handle the pressure, their springs giving up on the due day of that huge Year 10 Commerce assessment. Some were constantly jamming and had to endure multiple and often painful staple extractions. Some just quietly and without fanfare disappeared.

But now there is Alice. Things will be a little different. Alice will help us tally how many staplers we go through in a year. Like tropical cyclones, Alice's name denotes she is our first stapler for the year 2016. Successive staplers, should they be called upon, will alphabetically follow in her footsteps, so to speak.

We really, really hope to have Alice stick around all year. Please make her feel welcome (insert a round of applause here).