About the Author: About the Author: Anne Lee Seshadri is the American Center Director in New Delhi. She admits to napping from 3:00 - 4:00 a.m.

When I told my daughter I wasn’t coming home on Saturday night, she was admittedly confused. “What are you going to do in the office all night?,” she asked. “Well, sweetie, we thought it would be a nice idea to keep our library open all night so the students can prepare for their exams.” She looked dubious. Well, so was I. We conceived the idea on a lark — the American Library in New Delhi, the largest public access library in the State Department, had been growing by leaps and bounds, and we were overrun with university students. How to continually and creatively engage them is what keeps our American Center and Library staff occupied. During university exams, and in the sizzle of a Delhi May, we decided to stay open from 11:00 a.m. Saturday until 6:00 a.m. Sunday.

A healthy crowd stayed on until early evening, but I felt sure it would taper off when the novelty… more »