2008 Woodie Awards
Library noise an issue of civility
Issue date: 9/28/07 Section: Rocket Letters
To the editor:
Christopher Schilling's excellent article about cell phone abuse in Bailey Library calls attention to a problem that the library has to deal with all the time. As the director of the library, I know that we get more complaints about noise than about anything else.
As the library becomes an increasingly popular destination for students studying as well as relaxing and socializing, all the problems associated with large groups of people in a confined place become issues.
I get complaints about a range of anti-social behaviors that all go back to a lack of respect for other people's space, privacy, humanity, sensibilities, you name it. We are working on plans for a renovation of the library that will eventually result in a modern space that can accommodate students in all the activities that they do in libraries today. That's great, but what about now?
We (the staff) do what we can, but that is not very much, actually. Most of the staff on the floor at a given time are student assistants who cannot and do not intervene in every situation that might offend somebody. The third floor of the library is the quiet floor where quiet is the expectation and noisy people (including noisy library directors) are shushed by staff and users.
At 10 a.m. on a normal weekday, the reference room on the first floor is like a bus station, only louder. It's all well and good that people are coming to the library for any and all reasons, feel welcome there and clearly are not constrained by old-fashioned ideas about what libraries are.
It's bad if you happen to have an assignment due at 2 p.m. and need to stir up some serious thinking molecules about the subject at hand.
This is a society-wide problem. It's not going to get better. It's going to get worse. I don't mind people doing what they do, I just wish they would do it in the privacy of their own homes, automobiles or telephone booths, (which of course don't exist any more, do they?).
The solution has to do with each and every one of us feeling a greater sense of responsibility toward our fellow humans, and speaking out when we encounter public behavior that we find offensive or inappropriate.
The subject is civility and it is a legitimate topic for discussion in your dorms, classrooms and even in the library if you want to.
When do we talk?
Philip J. Tramdack
Director of Library Services
Christopher Schilling's excellent article about cell phone abuse in Bailey Library calls attention to a problem that the library has to deal with all the time. As the director of the library, I know that we get more complaints about noise than about anything else.
As the library becomes an increasingly popular destination for students studying as well as relaxing and socializing, all the problems associated with large groups of people in a confined place become issues.
I get complaints about a range of anti-social behaviors that all go back to a lack of respect for other people's space, privacy, humanity, sensibilities, you name it. We are working on plans for a renovation of the library that will eventually result in a modern space that can accommodate students in all the activities that they do in libraries today. That's great, but what about now?
We (the staff) do what we can, but that is not very much, actually. Most of the staff on the floor at a given time are student assistants who cannot and do not intervene in every situation that might offend somebody. The third floor of the library is the quiet floor where quiet is the expectation and noisy people (including noisy library directors) are shushed by staff and users.
At 10 a.m. on a normal weekday, the reference room on the first floor is like a bus station, only louder. It's all well and good that people are coming to the library for any and all reasons, feel welcome there and clearly are not constrained by old-fashioned ideas about what libraries are.
It's bad if you happen to have an assignment due at 2 p.m. and need to stir up some serious thinking molecules about the subject at hand.
This is a society-wide problem. It's not going to get better. It's going to get worse. I don't mind people doing what they do, I just wish they would do it in the privacy of their own homes, automobiles or telephone booths, (which of course don't exist any more, do they?).
The solution has to do with each and every one of us feeling a greater sense of responsibility toward our fellow humans, and speaking out when we encounter public behavior that we find offensive or inappropriate.
The subject is civility and it is a legitimate topic for discussion in your dorms, classrooms and even in the library if you want to.
When do we talk?
Philip J. Tramdack
Director of Library Services
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
Fraggle
Heather
posted 10/03/07 @ 11:51 AM EST
Also... something needs to be done with people's lack of repect of other people trying to study and get work done... The library is not a place to socialize, it is a place to work and is supposed to be a quiet place to work as well. (Continued…)
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