[Publib] Cell Phones in the Library

[Lise Chlebanowski]

Thanks to everyone who offered their ideas and opinions about this subject. It goes a long way to giving us some tools to make cell phone use a bit more bearable! Thanks!!!

Lisë Chlebanowski
Library Manager
Avondale Public Library
(623) 478-3105
lchlebanowski at avondale.org
"Outside of a dog, a book is man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read." 
Groucho Marx

 

-----Original Message-----
From: publib-bounces at webjunction.org [mailto:publib-bounces at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Diedre Conkling
Sent: Friday, December 02, 2005 12:26 PM
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: Re: [Publib] Cell Phones in the Library

Thanks for saying this.  I was thinking about how to say just this.  I would like to add that I have thought that cell phones would be very useful for family members when one of them comes to the library to pick up an item for someone else but isn't sure exactly what will work when they see what is at the library.  So the person calls home and says "here are the three recipes that I have found for making gingerbread.  Which one sounds best to you."  So, having the cell phone in the stacks is actually a way to make good use of the library.

And remember that many people, more all the time, are pulling out the cell phones and text messaging.  This is a very quiet process.  Yes, ask that the conversations be at a normal level for conversations in the library and put the cell phone ringer in "manner mode," "vibrate," etc. because the ringing is not the normal level - at this point.

And, yes, this subject, including the legality of blocking cell phones in the US have been discussed a number of times on PUBLIB.  I found a few references with a Google search, though not all of them.


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From: Bob Watson <librarybob at gmail.com>
Date: 2005/12/02 Fri AM 10:58:00 PST
To: publib at webjunction.org
Subject: [Publib] Cell Phones in the Library

Some weeks ago when one of our staff members was "busting" a cell-phone user
for talking on his phone in the library, he noted that it wasn't fair
because people were talking in the library all the time.

And you know, he was right.

Our public service desks are located where people can overhear the
conversations pretty easily.  Staff members talk to patrons and staff
members talk to each other ... the difference today and what made this a
startling revelation is that the ubiquitous computers make so much "white
noise" that conversations are quickly damped over the space of a few yards.
The library "seems" pretty much as quiet as ever, but it isn't really.

So we reversed course.  We now have signs asking users to turn off their
ringers (ringtones can drive anyone a tad nuts) but we do not mind if people
are carrying on quiet conversations.

We still quiet those folks who think they have to be loud to be understood.

We also made sure to create a "quiet study" area for those who really do
need something close to complete silence.

Bob Watson
Director
Lake Villa District Library
Lake Villa, IL

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Diedre Conkling
     
  Lincoln County Library District
  P.O. Box 2027, Newport, OR  97365
  Phone & Fax:  541-265-3066
  http://lcld.library-blogs.net/
  Work:  diedre at beachbooks.org
  Home:  diedrec at charter.net