[Publib] Cell Phones in the Library

[Elizabeth Cuckow]

Of course it's about the behavior, not the device. The problem comes
with people who seem to believe that their *device* exempts them from
all normal standards of *behavior*. I have seen some incredibly rude
people get even more obnoxious when asked to comply with the library's
code of conduct (which emphasizes behavior). Reasonable people are
embarrassed when they realize they are disturbing others, and they
change their behavior to suit the environment they are in.
 
IMNSHO, there is a big difference between using a cell phone in a
grocery store and using one in a library, especially in the stacks or in
areas where people are working like a computer room. That is the
expectation of QUIET. No one really expects a grocery store to be a
place they can concentrate, do they? Heck, it can be hard to have a
conversation at all because the *store* is playing that blasted music so
loud.
 
But people do have an expectation that the library is one of the few
places left in our culture where they can find a quiet place to think,
write, read, research, etc. 

My library - like many libraries - is so strapped for space that we do
not have any place that really functions as quiet space. We tell people
they can go to the "quieter" wing, but we still get complaints. The
staff has been admonished for talking too loudly at the information
desk, and we have to be very careful when we're helping people in the
stacks. Ringing phones and loud conversations just add to the problem. 
 
If you could trust people to be considerate of others, and if spaces
were ideally designed to allow for concentration AND conversation, there
would be no problems. I'm all for text messaging and muted ringers and
appropriate behavior, but I'm getting cynical, I guess.
 
Grumpy on a Friday,
Elizabeth
 
p.s. Our new library will have a designated SILENT room. Yee-ha!
 
 
Elizabeth Cuckow
Manager, Information Services
Laramie County Library System
2800 Central Ave., Cheyenne WY 82001
www.LCLSonline.org
307.634.3561 ext. 141
ecuckow at LCLSonline.org
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