by reneeschaferhorton on Nov.03, 2009, under Life
Libraries and silence – or the lack thereof
I wish I saw this sign in my local library (sigh). Image courtesy of CityofSound blog
So, I’m in the Oro Valley Public Library, a satellite of the Pima County Library System, and it is crowded and, more often than not, noisy. It appears all the laid-off people in OV now spend their days in the library – or maybe OV has always had this many self-employed folks. Whatever, they are noisy. Their cell phones ring and they answer them (!!!) right where they are sitting, frequently carrying on a detailed, fully voiced conversation.
There are also kind adults tutoring kids and, OK, that is a good thing overall, but I don’t really understand why the instruction has to be loud. And, a few minutes ago, a dog-trainer came in with a handi-dog doing what is necessary to train the dog (expose dog to people and places) but the chatter she carried on was not necessary.
This is all part of the movement of library as entertainment center to make libraries more accessible to the public. It has its positive points; one does want the public to use libraries, even if few of them read something actually printed on paper and head instead to the bank of computers. But there is something to be said about silence, as well as for basic manners.
Everyone knows the young imitate the old, so I would hope the 40 to 60 year olds could maintain some decorum and set an example for the younsters, but alas, it isn’t so. In fact, the Baby Boomer set, overall is louder than the younger library-goers. I just listened to a 60-something man at the computer station conduct a 15-minute conversation on his cell with someone about a Web page he was viewing. This guy sitting at a table behind me? His cell phone ring is turned up to “loud and annoying.” What is up with that? Turn the dang thing to vibrate, buddy!
You can’t stop progress, or so they say, so this new silent-never-more library-with-a-bookstore-feel train can’t be derailed. But perhaps the librarians could consider allocating space on the basis of noise level. You know, a tutoring section, a chit-chat section and then a research and study session where the old golden rule of silence – and no cell phones – applied. Just sayin’.
11 Comments for this entry
Leave a Reply
November 3rd, 2009 on 6:21 pm
I couldn’t agree more. I am also sitting in the library studying and listening to the ridiculous chatter around, including the loud talking from the librarians themselves. What happened to the librarians who would walk around and sternly whisper to loud talkers, “Be quiet!” Used to think the library was the best place to go to quietly read a book or to study. Not anymore, guess those days are passed.
November 3rd, 2009 on 6:57 pm
It seemed to me in the past that some librarians were a little obsessive about the silence rule. Now the pendulum seems to have swung too far in the other direction.
A pox on cell phones!
November 4th, 2009 on 12:13 pm
Amen, brother! A pox on cell phones!!!
November 3rd, 2009 on 8:02 pm
Public libraries are no longer simply libraries, but have become civic centers for many purposes. This morning they were voting in mine.
I have no problem with this – they are serving the community.
Cell phones are a different story – I think they are just the mating call of the Rude American.
You can still find the atmosphere you desire in University libraries, which still serve that traditional purpose.
November 3rd, 2009 on 8:36 pm
I asked one of the Pima County librarians what happened when I realized that talking on the cell phone is now allowed. She said that libraries were now more “community centers” and no longer places of silence. Sad change, as I prefer quiet reading as well.
November 3rd, 2009 on 8:52 pm
I use to volunteer at the Tucson public libraries. We were told from the high up administratlrs hat we could not silence people with cell phones, kids being tutored, nor stop porn from being shown on the computers even if kids were around. Fear of the Civil Liberties lawsuits and fear of losing their jobs was the main cause for this. The high ups hardly ever visit the branches and have no idea what goes on. There is no one to enforce any rules and it’s sorta a place to hang out both for teens, kids and adults with nothing else to do. I quit volunteering as I just couldn’t handle it all any more. Imagine how frustrated the employees must be.
November 3rd, 2009 on 8:58 pm
Oh, this is sad, and something I really haven’t experienced yet. My time in libraries is usually pretty fleeting at this time in my life, with young kids still hanging about, but I enjoy quiet time and would be truly disappointed to experience the kind of din you describe here at my local library. I hope this “wave of the future” peaks and dies soon.
November 3rd, 2009 on 10:11 pm
It must be incredibly frustrating not to be able to stop porn from being viewed – my sympathies
November 4th, 2009 on 9:22 am
Long live libraries!!! We visit our public library regularly and do look upon it as a community center. Gone are the days, when we went to get a few books, while being fearful of the librarians or other adults. Being fearful, is no way to approach the glory that is our public libraries. I am always able to find a quiet corner in the library if I want a bit of quiet time.
November 4th, 2009 on 10:06 pm
I’m glad to see that we have a few people left in this country who are not afraid to raise real issues and speak the truth, rather than having a filtered discussion that is “politically correct”. A library should be a place where you can find some quiet time and enjoy a good book or magazine. You should be able to have a space where you can think about what kind of information you need and contemplate the richness of a place like a library. If this trend keeps up, our community (along with our country) will end up with a much lower average IQ, which ultimately will mean the end of our great society as we know it!
November 7th, 2009 on 10:56 am
If libraries had been appreciated as the quiet spaces they once were, perhaps they would not have had to move to the community center model. As it is, libraries were facing extinction before they re-evaluated and embraced the need to change along with culture and society. I feel it is better to have libraries available to community members and to know that libraries are thriving in the face of technological change. Those who remember libraries as a place of quiet might have been part of the problem, when you all stopped visiting the library the library almost died! Those noisy people you disdain are using the library, helping to show it as a relevant part of modern culture, and helping to ensure it as a place that will be around long into the future.