NOISY Libraries (Sacramento, Santa Clara, Davis: buying, live, shop)

[Mack Knife]

You stand up and follow the Officer Stadanko model (Cheech and Chong) and in the louded possible voice yell:

"Shaaaadup!", then sit down as if nothing happened. Bullet resistant vest is optional.

[KC6ZLV]

I've seen them tell people to stop talking and to leave if they have food in the Central branch. It takes a complaint, then the librarian will call security to deal with them. The problem is layers have created an environment that requires a citizen to complain about nuisances before they can do anything about it, and too many people are brainwashed into thinking they are obligated to tolerate any kind of behavior, so they don't complain.

[GSherman]

The Roseville library is so loud! Adults and kids were on their cell phones, talking loud, eating. When I told the Librarian she said she is not allowed to say anything. What? I miss the old days.

[HesoIntuitive]

I dont think that appreciation for any aspect of history, postive of negative will discount the other.

[Mr. Opinionated]

Originally Posted by ryuns

My response was just a general reflection that my history with people reflecting upon history indicates that the history they idolize sometimes never existed. To the extent that it did, they often forget about all the bad things (either by being deliberately selective, or because they were essentially part of the favored class of people). That may not be the case with you but I think it's something people should keep in mind when they judge the present

Well I do appreciate your point. I guess life and noisy libraries will just boil down to remembering to take the bitter with the sweet...

Originally Posted by Mack Knife

You stand up and follow the Officer Stadanko model (Cheech and Chong) and in the loudest possible voice yell: "Shaaaadup!", then sit down as if nothing happened. Bullet resistant vest is optional.

LOL... That could be quite funny if the vest wasnt necessary!

[Cornhusker_CA]

Originally Posted by GSherman

The Roseville library is so loud! Adults and kids were on their cell phones, talking loud, eating. When I told the Librarian she said she is not allowed to say anything. What? I miss the old days.

I don't think so because Roseville is not in a "ghetto" zone.

[looking4home]

Originally Posted by GSherman

The Roseville library is so loud! Adults and kids were on their cell phones, talking loud, eating. When I told the Librarian she said she is not allowed to say anything. What? I miss the old days.

Yes, apparently, it is an actual policy of the city of Roseville that the libraries should be "user-friendly" and they want to encourage patrons, and not turn them off with a lot of rules and regulations. And with the advent of new media, sitting down quietly and reading an actual book is becoming less and less important. This was all explained to me by a librarian when I also complained about the noise level.

[Norcalmom99]

Originally Posted by looking4home

I'm glad you raised this topic because it has been a pet peeve of mine for quite some time. I live in Roseville, and we are fortunate enough to have three libraries. The oldest one, near downtown, has long been the hang out for the homeless and transients who ride the rails and stop off in Roseville. The noise level isn't too bad in there- abut the smell can be! They've changed the carpet numerous times but it hasn't helped.

However, in the newest library on the west side of town it is a g.d. free-for-all!!! It's really just an indoor playground as small children are allowed to do whatever they please which includes prolonged screaming, crying, and noisy play activities. They also allow food and drink in the library, which blows me away as there are computers everywhere and media like dvd's, audio books, computer games, not to mention books. I know it makes me sound like an old fuddy-duddy but it is just another sign of the times - those in authority, in this case a city, allow people to exhibit rude, anti-social behavior. It's permitted, condoned and even encouraged. There is supposed to be a "quiet area" upstairs, but those rooms are often reserved for meetings and study groups, and it goes without saying that the noise downstairs carries to the open areas upstairs. So if you are looking for a quiet, relaxing place to study or read, you better find someplace else!

This is the library we live by. We go there quite a bit and it is never noisy at all. We have never been there during the story time or kids activities.

[Mr. Opinionated]

Originally Posted by looking4home

Yes, apparently, it is an actual policy of the city of Roseville that the libraries should be "user-friendly" and they want to encourage patrons, and not turn them off with a lot of rules and regulations. And with the advent of new media, sitting down quietly and reading an actual book is becoming less and less important. This was all explained to me by a librarian when I also complained about the noise level.

This sounds practical in conjunction with Hollytree's viewpoint below. And seems to be the redefining of what libraries once were since books may also evolve into something electronically different soon. But I miss the old fashioned library. Maybe it will just become the not necessarily quiet neighborhood media center someday...

Originally Posted by Hollytree

Librarians have been so dissed and disrespected by the general public for so long (not to mention their budgets always being the first to be cut) that they have bowed to pressure and no longer insist that libraries be quiet. It's been a losing battle.

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by Mr. Opinionated

This sounds practical in conjunction with Hollytree's viewpoint below. And seems to be the redefining of what libraries once were since books may also evolve into something electronically different soon. But I miss the old fashioned library. Maybe it will just become the not necessarily quiet neighborhood media center someday...

That's an interesting point. Hard to point to correlation vs causation, but it seems that there's a parallel tread for the location for actual "studying" and "reading" to move from the library to the coffeeshop. When I was at UC in the early to mid-2000s, it was pretty well split between the coffee houses and massive libraries. While I was there, the libraries became more and more lenient on people having drinks, which was good for folks like me, who loved caffeine but hated paying for drinks . Fortunately, since it's filled with people actually studying, noise levels were pretty well self-policed.