I was talking with the neighbors this morning when one of them asked what I would be doing at work today. Before I could respond that I would be answering any questions that came in, pitching in at the Circulation Desk, working in the historical room, straightening the magazine collection, doing a little web publishing, perhaps some Interlibrary Loan, the smart aleck of the group quickly said, “ she will be doing a lot of shushing”. Sigh. The stereotypical image of a librarian is a hard thing to shake. I haven’t met any librarians in buns and drab clothing. Many of the librarians I know dress very stylishly and wear shoes that are anything but sensible, some even have tattoos! The Library is a lively place where people are encouraged to talk about what they are reading. The Librarians have many animated discussions at the Circulation Desk, sometimes there have even been complaints that we are being too loud! Monday, September 24, 2007
The Evolution of Libraries
I was talking with the neighbors this morning when one of them asked what I would be doing at work today. Before I could respond that I would be answering any questions that came in, pitching in at the Circulation Desk, working in the historical room, straightening the magazine collection, doing a little web publishing, perhaps some Interlibrary Loan, the smart aleck of the group quickly said, “ she will be doing a lot of shushing”. Sigh. The stereotypical image of a librarian is a hard thing to shake. I haven’t met any librarians in buns and drab clothing. Many of the librarians I know dress very stylishly and wear shoes that are anything but sensible, some even have tattoos! The Library is a lively place where people are encouraged to talk about what they are reading. The Librarians have many animated discussions at the Circulation Desk, sometimes there have even been complaints that we are being too loud! 
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Modern library evolution should NOT disrespect the traditional "temple of scholarly silence".
ReplyDeleteThere should NEVER be an instance where any library equipment or resources is disabled because of inconsiderate talk or voice communication.
Human neurophysiology and biophysics remains pretty much unchanged for millenia. Subjects or trains of thought that require individual silence have NOT ceased to exist. The same laws of physics still apply.
Silence should be the respected temple, while sound should be meticulously partitioned from it. Conference rooms should be available. Cell phone booths or sound cushioned lobbies should be strictly designed to allow the new voice communication technology. All this should be enforced and educated into all users or potential users.
To intrude unchecked noise into the sanctity of independent scholarly silence is a crime.