sweets/nuts in the library

[jam17]

I'm currently sat in my uni library. There are big signs everywhere saying that you can only eat sweets and bottled drinks. I'm sat on a desk (no books) with my own laptop.

I was eating a packet of 'munchy seeds' i don't know if anyone's seen them, just like chilli flavoured seeds, in a small packet, very healthy, hence why i bought them.
The security guard came over and told me to stop eating.

My uni is NOT a nut free zone. Not like some schools are. You can eat anything you want in lectures/social areas etc.

I don't see how eating sweets is differet to seeds? they're not full of crumbs, like sandwiches. They don't make loads of noise like crisps. i've not got sticky fingers all over the books from sauces.

I don't know whether I should just keep eating them and then speak to the library manager if he tries to kick me out? I don't see any difference, why should only un-healthy snacks be allowed?

(It's pretty empty, i'm not making any noise eating them!)

[BettySwollocksandaCrustyRack]

How bloody ridiculous!! Yes, just keep eating them - I know rules are rules and all that but some are just pointless!!

[CSIJanner]

The only thing I can think f is if you spill them. But then you'd probably pick them up. So I would probably say jobs worth.

check with the librarian. Unless someone working there has a major allergy,then there shouldn't be a problem.

[CleanHankie]

I work in a Uni Library and eating anything is a big no no in ours. It's our biggest annoyance. We have a really good cafe right outside the entrance barriers so no need to eat IN the library. The main problem is the mess that is left. Although we have cleaners, they can't clean the whole place as well as we'd like. It's not just wrappers left on desk but the crumbs that get left and trodden in to the carpet, and yes sticky mess left on tables/sofas/books/pc's. We've just had a massive refurb over the last couple of years and it looks so nice and pristine that we don't want it spoilt. The main complaint we had before it was done was the state of the Library, but it looks like a slippery slope to what it was before if we don't implement such rues about eating and drinking.

Sorry but YABU

[jam17]

I understand that hankie but this library does allow eating.
How are a tube of seeds different to sticky sweets/chocolate?

[jam17]

I'm not saying that he said don't eat at all, he said you can only eat sweets? Makes no sense? How can you say, you can snack but only if you're eating crap?

[CleanHankie]

Mess. Yes sweets can leave wrappers and same with chocolate (do they allow this, I'd have thought melted chocolate could be a problem) but not really crumbs. Ever seen a crushed packet of crisps/nuts pulled out of a bag and then accidentally emptied over a desk/floor? I'm not saying this is the case OP but one rule for everyone I'm afraid

[jam17]

I could easily spill a crushed bag of malteasers i'd had in my bag on the floor?

[jam17]

worse, could drop some and have them trodden in the carpet

[jam17]

well it's three against one. I'm eating them

[BartletForTeamGB]

Seeds have herbs, salt and grease on them, so can damage the books, I suppose. Less of a problem with chocolate?

[CleanHankie]

Also depends on their definition of sweets. Are they thinking of sweets as hard boiled or haribo and therefore malteasers/buttons/revels are banned? That I could understand

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

People eating in libraries piss me the hell off, sorry.

It's noisy, and the crumbs attract mice, which will eat the books.

But I can see why the inconsistency about sweets is annoying.

[Scuttlebutter]

It's a library, not a cafe. Are you a toddler who has to be constantly placated with snacks?

Until recently, I too worked in a University Library. We had a simple policy - bottled water only. People still tried to eat though. The issues with people eating:-

Firstly, the mess. Grease, crumbs, wrappers, spills, finger marks, over tables, PCs, books, DVDs. Keyboards out of action after people spilled fizzy drinks. You should always leave the library as you would like to find it. If you treat it as a dining room, don't be surprised if tables are greasy, keyboards are messy
and books are ruined. Being a student is about respecting communal areas and the facilities for learning provided for you. Would you also expect to eat in the labs?

The library budget is not finite. More money spent on clearing up crap, replacing damaged items = less money on resources.

Secondly, the noise. Crunching, munching, chewing, rustling, fiddling with wrappers, noisily licking fingers, sucking. In a quiet area, EVERYONE can hear you. During exam time, your fellow students WILL complain about you and expect library staff to shut you up or evict you.

Thirdly, the smell. Offputting to those using some of the study rooms when they stink of takeaways.

Fourthly, cultural issues. In the library I worked in, many of our students were Muslim. Should they have to sit in the debris from a previous student's pork pie fest, or surrounded by half eaten Greggs sausage rolls?

Fifthly - pests. Eating food leaves crumbs and debris, and this attracts mice, especially in older buildings. Again, damage to fabric of building, wires etc.

[LettyAshton]

I think seeds are worse than sweets.

To eat seeds one has to actually place them inside your mouth. Then you continue to touch keyboard/desk/books. Urgggh.

[Pandemoniaa]

Why does anyone need to eat in the library? Taking bottled water in seems quite reasonable but I really don't see why anyone needs to be scoffing sweets and chocolate, let alone stuff that makes a crumby mess. So sorry, but YABU.

[eurowitch]

YABU. When I eat seeds at my desk I find they end up EVERYWHERE.

[GoSakuramachi]

malteasers aren't sweets they are chocolate.

You shouldn't be eating at all in the library, making irritating crunchy eaty noises. Drives me bonkers.

[Whatdoiknowanyway]

YABU. Fingers transfer seeds from bag to mouth then are used to turn pages in books other people will be using. Antisocial and unnecessary.

[arrrghhhhwaiting]

Yabu. Munchy seeds are much louder than a boiled sweet that stays in your mouth for ages. You hand goes in and out of the bag repeatedly, as it would with crisps. Only posher.

[littleducks]

I eat secretly in the uni library. There are different rules for different floors some areas are water only some hot drinks and water only. There are study booths/glass wall rooms and in group meeting times which are inevitably over lunch I will sometimes have a snack.

[Floggingmolly]

Why do you have to eat anything in the library. When you're hungry, take a break and go to a cafe.

[SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius]

I think Scuttlebutter has summed it up perfectly. Go outside to have a snack, then go back to your work.

[Crinkle77]

my goodness how strict is your uni? I work in a uni library and the ground floor has a little cafe area for students to eat and drink in. On the other floors we allow cold drinks but not hot drinks. They are not allowed to eat hot food on the other floors. I certainly would not tell anyone off for having a packet of crisps. I think it is strange that sweets are allowed as they can leave a right sticky mess

[LRDtheFeministDragon]

You think these are strict?!

My library won't let you take in water, check out books, or take bags/coats in.

They don't waste shedloads of money replacing books that have been damaged/stolen, though, so I can put up with it being very annoying.