[Publib] Libraries and silence

[Miriam Bobkoff]

Hi, Marserena,

>I wonder if American libraries are like this new model, or, otherwise, 
>they are like in Spain (silent and a little boring places, more similar to 
>churchs than to information centers).

Count Santa Fe Public Library as one of the noisier libraries. Especially 
at transition moments, as when a program is breaking up and little bunches 
of people are lingering all over the building talking in groups-- we let 
them go on for a while before trying to get them moving towards the doors.

But it might be pretty noisy any time, and that includes the library 
workers as well as the public!! We may not have everything people need, but 
we try hard and we are not very quiet while we're doing it.

People converse in normal voices, generally. Working together on the 
computers, or at a table; asking questions; etc.

This leaves us in something of a dilemma when we really would like to shush 
someone (or their children), how to say, "Noisy is often OK, but YOU can't 
sit here typing on this PC while ignoring your three small children who are 
screaming, crawling all over the furniture, and disturbing everyone else 
who is trying to work. Please stop your own work and take the kids to the 
children's room."

We have one absolutely quiet room, our Southwest Reading Room, where people 
are asked not to have conversations with each other or work together, and 
if we go in there with a library patron to find someting we will talk in 
very very soft voices. When someone asks where they can do some work we can 
say, "It's very quiet in the Southwest Room."

Otherwise the only rule of behavior about silence is the general one about 
not disturbing other library users. When the place is busy and crowded, 
everyone's voices rise. When it's pretty quiet, someone with a loud voice 
stands out, and we might try to ask them move their conversation away from 
where people are working.


Miriam Bobkoff                     work: mkbobkoff at santafenm.gov
Santa Fe Public Library            personal: mbobkoff at cybermesa.com
145 Washington Avenue
Santa Fe, NM 87501
(505) 955-6832
         Icarus-the-SFPL-blog  http://santafelibrary.blogspot.com
         The library's web page   http://www.santafelibrary.org