There should be a fine for those who use their cell phones!

as someone noted above, it is difficult to be put in the position of behavior police. i use my judgement on what most people would consider acceptable.

as for the no babies sign… if it was up to ME, it would be the first one to put up. before the no cellphones, before the no teenagers, before the turn off your ringers. but thank goodness that it is not up to me.

Thanks for handing me this fun experiment! :)

I do not work in a library, but have dealt with public most of my life and find them as a whole just thoughtless-not rude.

you’re so right. this is still a big issue and might continue to be as people become ever more reliant on their mobile devices. you’re also right about policy. policies are most often blanket statements and blanket can smother! less hard, immutable rules, more human interaction sounds great to me.

I agree that we should be kind to patrons when we ask that they take their phone conversations out of the library. Patrons can use their phones to check messages or use texting, but if they want to talk it is polite to take it outside or to the lobby. If we don’t enforce this rule, then patrons who come in to read and enjoy the peaceful environment of the library that they remember from their youth will be sorely disappointed.

I do support a ban on the use of cell phones in the library unless there is a designated place- – -your other comments reflect many of the reasons why. I’ve never had to deal with it because folks lose reception on their way down to my underground youth services cave. Saves me much angst.

My problem with kid noise isn’t when kids are being kids- – it’s when adults aren’t teaching or interacting with their child and the behavior escalates. It’s the adults behaving badly, not the kid. As the mother of two small torando boys I understand the line. By the same token I think many adults just don’t see the Library as the “kids library” too and view it with the expectations of how an adult must use the Library.

I’ve had to put up yucky signage now that denotes a big box of snacks with a no over it. After finding pudding packages in the stacks, banana peels mushed into the carpet and snack messes o’plenty I finally caved and put up a sign. It is mess, and allergy safety issues as people seems to leave their buffet behind with them.

Again- – -it’s the adults behaving badly and not the kids. As a parent I have to plan around the physical needs of my child too. I think the solution is that it should be mandatory that every library have some sort of designated snack area. I’ve seriously bucked for having a cafe style place- – -we need it.