When did public libraries become SO GODDAMNED LOUD?

The worst offenders are senior citizens, maybe a combination of bad hearing and losing social filters. A couple of mean old shits cause trouble at my local branch, so I quit going there.

Enjoy the library before it’s taken away. Conservatives, who don’t value education, think libraries are socialist.

My local library has a whole corner devoted to “Mums and Bubs” (the very name makes me flinch) with a different activity - all of them loud - every morning. Screaming children running around and hyper competitive mummies loudly comparing childbirth nightmare stories and how little Kai has already been diagnosed as being gifted while little Mollie is in the top percentile for her age.

Then there are the authors’ talks, craft workshops for deaf retirees and loud groups of kids from the high school next door sheltering from the heat during free period.

It’s no longer a library, it’s a community centre. They are even getting rid of actual books because nobody reads them, apparently.

I'd say the 1980's, when I worked as a clerk. The public computers changed everything.

While I agree with OP’s sentiments and want the library quiet, we do have to remember that it belongs to everyone.

That's kind of my point, r5. It belongs to everyone -- including those who want peace and quiet.

“This is my library too! I can be as loud as I want! KAREN!”

r5, that's exactly why for decades the rule was SILENCE. Things that we share come with fucking expectations. You RESPECT others by SHUTTING THE FUCK UP.

As a millennial, I can promise you they were still pretty quiet in the 90s.

If you had a cold, or hell, even a dry throat and had to suck on something, you felt awkward as fuck. That's how quiet they were. Even in the computer lab.

The problem with books is that they take up space. Imagine if libraries got rid of all of them - they could burn them - then there’d be so much extra space for all the non-reading “community”.

I'm ancient enough to remember when hospitals were hushed so sleepers and sufferers weren't disturbed. Voices were kept low and banging and clanging were kept to a minimum. Patients today are bombarded with raucous laughter, yelling, and every sort of racket around the clock. No attempt at muffling noise is made, whether it is 2:00 a. m. or 11 p.m. It really adds to the overall misery of being in the hospital. Our local library is quite peaceful but the majority of its patrons are older folks.

Nowadays, you can hardly even find a librarian to help you in a library. They're all remote!

I heart you so much for this. My local library got so bad there were children running and screaming (not their fault, their minders were laughing), adults having loud, continuous conversations, librarians themselves yelling on the phone, it's nuts. This is in a library where there are rooms where they could confine these loudmouthed assholes. Older folks are some of the worst, or at least the middle-aged. Someone said upthread it's because people don't read books anymore so they don't get why you would need quiet to concentrate and I think that's part of it.

I urge people to keep complaining, I did and it got better. On the other hand I stopped going and now download all my books for free and transfer them to kindle. People don't know how to behave in public anymore.

I used to go to the Library a lot when I was kid. I remember it being so quiet and peaceful. You just knew to use your manners and quietly look for what you wanted to read. Lol, I wouldn't let my boyfriend go with me because he'd be loud on purpose and embarrass me. I haven't been to one in so long, and I hate to hear that people are just outright ignorant ass hell when they go.

We have a beautiful new local library in my suburban county. And I thought the same thing just the other day, OP. I grew up going to the library all the time either at school or the public one. We all whispered. It was a quiet place where people read. I thought it was the greatest place in the world. Now it's more like a day care and entertainment for the pre schoolers and they are loud as fuck. I use my headphones so it's ok but I wish the kids had their own little library building that was separate so the adults could read peacefully. Anyone listening to music or on their phone should be kicked out immediately. We all stopped going to our downtown city main branch years ago because it's a day room for the homeless. It smells so bad in there, it's unbearable..

I remember one time going on the library computer and all of this porn was saved on it. This was like 10 years ago.

I discovered this myself more than fifteen years ago when I started doing research in library stacks. Even in places labeled quiet areas people would be chatting. Made me turn to online research only.

What would happen if you people actually ever told a stranger to shut up?

r16 It's hard to find a public library that even has quiet zones. In my (recent) experience, they are confined to academic libraries (which at least makes me feel okay about telling loud patrons to shut up).

I worked as a librarian in public libraries in the late 90s and they were loud then. I eventually started doing archival and research work so I could be the fuck alone.

Just take earplugs or earbuds. Problem solved.

FYI: You can't use public library wifi to log on to DL!

Access Denied!

We are a naughty bunch and all the public libraries know it!

What’s the point of public libraries anymore?

r22 = Musk

[quote] What would happen if you people actually ever told a stranger to shut up?

I do, but you have to start all over again the next time and it's fucking depressing. Puts you in a bad mood. My usual opening is "Excuse me, this is a library, not a Starbucks. Please take your loud conversation with the person ACROSS THE ROOM, outside" Another: two female types were sitting at a table right next to the new books section conducting some kind of class for the old and feeble, constant loud monotone two feet from my ears as I'm trying to browse books. I ask them wouldn't it make more sense to have your, whatever this is, in the section where there are tables and no people or books?" The blabber was stupefied and mumbled that she would have to ask the manager. I won't even start on the daycare aspect. An entire generation growing up thinking it's fine to act like wild animals no matter where they are. And I've taught small children and know perfectly well you can teach them to behave in a public place.

I also mention all this shit to the librarians on the way out. They would usually smirk and say this is the way it is now, we're a community center. I just stopped going unless I have a book on reserve, in and out.

[quote]What would happen if you people actually ever told a stranger to shut up?

During the early days of COVID, I asked a man checking out at a u-scan a couple of feet away from me to please pull up his mask. He responded VERY aggressively. For a second, I thought he might physically attack me.

The patrons who are the loudest are usually the ones I would feel unsafe confronting.

My local library (the one I can walk to) is so small it’s basically just a place I can conveniently pick up books or movies I’ve ordered through the website. It is very catered to children and people who want to use the computers. The most depressing sight is the security guard now sitting in the entrance (a recent thing since crime and acting out is rising in the neighborhood thanks to the homeless shelters nearby.)

I miss my childhood library in the Bronx that was much larger; I could go there and browse and browse until something caught my interest. Unheard of in this branch because the book collection onsite is so small.

Having said all that, public libraries are a godsend and offer so much, I cherish them. I couldn’t do without them.

[quote]What would happen if you people actually ever told a stranger to shut up?

The last two times I shushed people at the library, they went off on me. One was one of the mean old shits I mentioned above. I was in line to sign up for something, and she started a conversation with me, full voice. I put my finger to my lips and said "shhh." Kaboom! A librarian came over to get her to shut up. Later when I sat at a table to read periodicals, she sat behind me and muttered vulgarities at me in French. Just horrid.

I used to go to the state library every night for a few hours when I had a noisy upstairs neighbor in my apartment building. I would browse old New Yorker magazines from the stacks to pass the time. There were homeless people there too but they weren't noisy. I guess if the place was noisy it would not have been the sanctuary I needed while I waited out my lease to expire so I could move.