Do you still have to be quiet in a library?

[Enko]

Dh and I are in our 50s and were both brought up (2 different countries) with libraries being quiet studious places.

Lately we have noticed a change in this. Are others finding this?

Is it now normal for libraries to not be quiet spaces /or have quiet spaces?

Where else can you go for a quiet space to study if not the library and you are not able to do so at home?

Not everyone lives near a university though.

Our local library is open plan and not quiet, definitely more a community space. Which is great, as they're making a real effort to keep it warm and it was packed when I was in there yesterday! If I wanted quiet I'd go to the bigger one which is about twenty minutes away and still has dedicated quiet rooms. I've generally found if a library isn't open plan there's a place that's supposed to be quiet somewhere.

But best place for quiet mid-week revising I've found is the pub.

I'm a (mature) student and when i'm in the university library it's generally evenings and weekends, when it's quiet. I can always find a deserted corner and wouldn't object to other people studying quietly in there too. I need my student card to swipe in and out though and the front reception is unmanned out of office hours. During office hours, the library is busy with students and the take precedent over members of the public wanting a quiet space.

You need a University card to swipe in to every university library I know anything about (which is a few, through different dc plus all the universities we looked round when they were deciding).

Our library is definitely not quiet any more. There’s toys and activities in the children's section, lots of group meet there and they have recently got a piano!

My local library has study areas upstairs where people are expected to be quiet. There are study tables but also rooms that can be booked as well.

The ground floor which is adult and children’s lending is not expected to be totally quiet. If kids are running around screaming something would be said but generally it’s ok for people to talk so long as they’re not being too loud.

There are also bookbug sessions, book groups, knitting groups, a painting group, a Gaelic conversation group and a small coffee station where people can buy tea/coffee and small biscuits/cakes.

Libraries rely on funding and need to encourage people to come in to keep their numbers up so they don’t lose their funding altogether. If this means encouraging groups to use the spaces available then so be it. But I agree that they should also offer quiet spaces for those who need them.

@Kindofcrunchy who do you think you are telling people to go home?

I am so tired of people uttering dictates like ‘If you don’t like it go home’, ‘Get some noise-cancelling headphones’ and even ‘Move house’ on here whenever people object to children being overly noisy. Why should other people have to suffer because some people won’t parent effectively?

I agree libraries can only continue if and enjoyment of them is fostered among children. But children can and should be taught to enjoy libraries without being unduly noisy. I was taken to the library myself from an early age - and told that this was a place where people were expected to be quiet, I could play noisily somewhere else later on. That concept seems to have entirely gone out of the window now judging by how many times I see kids running riot in places where it causes problems for others, and parents seeming to think it’s fine.

How about kids being taught there is a time and a place for noisy play and that places like libraries aren’t it?

But not all toddlers are the mumsnet brand, reading harry potter in their head at 2 type of toddler. Mines the standard type that requires an adult to read 'that's not my kitten' out loud, in order to follow a book. There isn't a silently way for a toddler, or even a child below 6/7 to use a library.

I was asked to do some activities in local libraries a few years ago and assumed they would need to be quiet ones. For a toymaking session, I took along my hand cranked vintage sewing machine because it is quiet.
Soon realised that noise isn't an issue any more, when they asked me to do music sessions and junk percussion the following week

My local university ( small ) is open to the public. Not many people realise so the 'public' tends to be A Level students and uni students from other universities. There are lots of different rooms including some with individual study booths. They are rarely busy.

But not all toddlers are the mumsnet brand, reading harry potter in their head at 2 type of toddler. Mines the standard type that requires an adult to read 'that's not my kitten' out loud, in order to follow a book. There isn't a silently way for a toddler, or even a child below 6/7 to use a library.

There is a vast difference between reading to / sharing a book with a toddler, and a small child being allowed to run around, shouting and screaming, and pushing books off shelves, etc.
I think most people wouldn't have an issue with a small group meeting or discussing a group project for their homework ; a couple chatting whilst reading a newspaper ; someone helping someone else on the computer or filling in a form or with some homework; even a group of toddlers singing some Nursery rhymes with their parents / carers.
Most people aren't expecting silence, but it is surely part of a parent's job to teach small children to have a bit of respect for others and teach hem there is a time and a place for 'indoor' and 'outdoor' voices.

Sums it

Sums it up perfectly as far as I'm concerned, that should have said.

Telling people to 'go home if if they want peace and quiet' is ignorant and cruel.

Reference library?

I don't understand why you would go out to study.

Maybe because you need the reference books, but maybe because you don't have a desk or a table at home? Or a quiet space ?

Ok, maybe if there are reference books you can't take out, but unless you are in b&b, there's going to be somewhere at home you can use.
I speak as someone who did OU with three small children.

You obviously have experience of only a narrow range of different home lives.

While I completely agree with your point regarding children being read to by their parents vs children causing chaos in a library, OP’a complaint was not about children and was about the exact low level chatter you stated people wouldn’t mind.

Libraries are not silent places anymore, they are somewhere low level noise is tolerated so unless your library has a silent area, there is nowhere to go for silent work.

I work in a library and would say there's no rule on being silent as libraries are encouraged as a place for people to attend for support/loneliness/warmth. They also often run groups such as book clubs , sing groups etc. so it really depends on the facilities, some may have study rooms that you can use rather than being in the main area. But no you won't get silence in the main library.

You borrow the books and read them to your toddler at home.

But again, can you not borrow the book and read it at home?

Why is it ok to say this but not ok to say that the adults should just go home and be quiet?

There are lots of reasons why home may not be suitable for either group - I know someone with two kids in a one bed flat, she sometimes just really needs to be out of there.

The real issue is poor building design - most of the libraries near us are not open plan. Our local one has a separate room for the kids section

And borrowing books is not a silent activity with a toddler either - they aren't capable of silently selecting something, they perfectly naturally want to talk about the books and debate different ones and sometimes you need to explain that although the cover looks very appealing, they aren't actually ready for Lord of the Rings because they are 2.