[Publib] Re: Celll Phones in the Library

[Andy Barnett]

When we remodeled, we identified noise as a major problem. Not only cell 
phones, but the students from the nearby junior high who camp here from 
2:40 until 4:30. Trying to convince them that they should use library 
voices and their best behavior when they had just escaped from school was a 
non-starter. Very frustrating for us and them.

We now have established our adult and children's rooms as "library like" 
areas. We expect and enforce quiet, no running (even without scissors), no 
food. Meanwhile, our new area on the lower level allows food and drink, 
especially if purchased from our coffee shop. Kids are allowed to form 
small mobs and play the kind of games teens do (within limits). You can use 
your cell phone without anyone noticing. The floor, needless to say, is not 
carpeted, but made from recycled tires and easy to clean. Yes, it does 
require supervision, but so did the old arrangement. Are we babysitting 
kids? Yup. But they get in less trouble here than they would anywhere else. 
They start using us as a clubhouse, but some move on to reading magazines, 
joining the Teen Advisory Board, actually doing homework. Both areas are 
wireless, though the bulk of wired workstations are in the Adult room, 
where staff can provide more assistance.

Adults used to flee the building in the afternoons, but now they know that 
they have their choice of a lively area or a more traditional quiet 
library-like space.  As libraries come to rcognize the value of serving as 
a communty space, we will need to include areas that are less like 
traditional libraries. Since most people will not switch their cell phones 
on and off as they move from building to building, it is best to give them 
a place where they can use them without disturbing others.

Andy Barnett, Assistant Director
McMillan Memorial Library, 490 East Grand Avenue, Wisconsin Rapids WI 54494
abarnett at scls.lib.wi.us   (715) 423-1040   Fax (715) 423-2665