To be annoyed that the library turned into a kids play area?

[Camdenlife33]

My local library went under some renovations and has finally reopened. It’s a small library and the renovations seem to be an addition of a ‘little ones’ cafe and play area.

The only floor of the library, and so the only area with seating/computers, is now shared with a kids cafe and play area. It’s open plan, so the kids area is seconds away from the ‘quietest area’ of the library. The library is filled with under 5s shouting and darting around. It isn’t a general murmur of background noise, it’s actual screams/shrieks and kids running around and playing IN the library. I’m sure you can imagine what 30+ toddlers together in a play area sounds like - I thought I was at the wrong place.

I genuinely can’t focus. I’m in 3rd year uni and I came to the library to work on my dissertation before work. AIBU to find this unacceptable? It’s strange as there is both a university and a level college in walking distance to this library - I wonder why they didn’t take their visitors who would like to work/study/read in peace into account, and instead essentially turned the library into a kids play building.

(I have already left the library btw)

Yellow Interesting that fewer are borrowing books. It is probably because people like me have stopped going.

Curious Yes foolish to think that libraries should take into account the needs of some regular users.

Hmmmm tricky this one. I think it’s great that they are encouraging families into libraries and getting children to enjoy being in libraries. But surely there needs to be an area for quiet study too? Not just for university students, as they have their own libraries which are ime really well set up for studying, whereas public libraries can be a bit miss - not enough of the right books for most degrees for a start. But maybe people who are studying through distance learning or for personal study might like somewhere quiet and free of charge to do this.

So I’d say yabu to object to the play area, but yanbu to object to there not being anywhere quiet to study.

And to hell with people trying to study or read in peace eh? hmm Which was the original idea of the sodding library!!!

I think the original idea of Public Libraries was to give the masses access to books they couldn't afford.

Our city library had to move from their lovely old building and reopened in a small city centre modern building. I thought it was a shame to lose that old space but it is always busy with people reading the papers, using the computers.

Now if only they had a few more books in there...

@YellowPrimula, it's back to what I was saying about numbers through the door being seen as the most important indicator.

I don't think it should even be about borrowing books, but should be about the number of people who have managed to achieve something because of their visit - whether it is to find a fact, a book or a source, or accessing ICT to fill in an application form. I don't think people really understand the added value of trained library staff and the support we provide to people to help them carry out those tasks. With the best will in the world, volunteers keeping a space open and full of bodies is not the same thing.

I love my small local library, sometimes when I go there is a toddler session on, the music ones are the noisiest. To be honest it doesn't worry me as I can work in a noisy environment, I just tune it out. My husband can't and he needs total silence.

Yanbu this is very odd

Isn't it fairly well known that libraries are generally supposed to be quiet? Because they are a place where people are reading and studying.

The library had always been a valuable resource for people who may not have peace and quiet/ facilities at home. So, people who need to use computer eg job seekers, and especially children who can read and study when they may have chaotic home lives/ no resources there.

The while purpose of libraries was to give access to the general public to the wealth of literature, reference books and so on, so that no one and especially no child would be locked out of learning, studying and so on.

I am very angry with our local libraries add they have made it very very difficult for young people to study in them, effectively closing an area of respite for kids with difficult home lives who want to study and get on.

A kids play area in the middle of a library is a bizarre idea and I'm surprised that anyone thinks it's great tbh.

Ours always had a lot of kids with parents in anyway as little ones need real books, with the texture and pics and everything, and they did rhyme time and so on.

Am actual play area is bonkers.

Are your council trying to shut them down? That's what ours are doing, by making it as difficult as possible for the main groups that use it, to do so.

Our local library has some great reference books. I no longer go there and access them. The old library had the children's area behind doors and a quiet area at the opposite end of the building. There always used to be older school students studying in there. They have now gone. That saddens me.

I wonder why they didn’t take their visitors who would like to work/study/read in peace into account, and instead essentially turned the library into a kids play building.

It does sound poorly planned - ideally there should be a quiet area that's genuinely quiet - but if it's a small space it was probably the constraints of the building.

Funding for public libraries is so under threat that it's likely they did consider all users, and decided that greatest monetary advantage came from targeting families with the cafe and play area. That then subsidises the other users - I'm afraid if you were just going in to use it as a place to study, and not actively borrowing books or logging on at the work stations or doing anything 'measurable' then you're in effect part of the problem libraries have ... sad but true.

I think the school library argument - and it being protected space as a 'learning resource' not just a free-for-all area is actually slightly different.

But public libraries have to remain open in whatever fashion they can manage now, even if that's noisy. Otherwise they'll cease to exist at all.

I think as Easter the library should have quiet areas for school pupils to revise for Summer exams. Many children don’t have access to a quiet space at home to study and now another option been removed.

Young children have lots of other options including the park why do we have to clog up another public space with buggies and loud children. I am all for children in libraries , as I said mine have always gone right from babyhood but they should be fulfilling a public need not becoming yet another soft play or coffee shop.

As a teenager, I revised for all my exams in the local public library.

Our local library shut and moved to a new building which has library, pool and gym

The pool noise isn't too bad as it's sort of a hum of background noise and not too distracting, but when there is a gym class going on the building practically shakes with the music and instructor shouting on the microphone over the noise seemed to be a class on whenever I've been in there

It means that instead of a nice walk to the local library, we drive to the next closest one which is, shock horror, an actual quiet place where you can hear yourself think!

Curious Yes foolish to think that libraries should take into account the needs of some regular users. But the children's groups, chess groups, computer, gardening, PCSO meeting, small business meetings, book clubs, photography club, and a whole host of other local groups are also regular library users.

I think some people are getting a public library confused with a reading room. They are entirely different. As has been said, public libraries were never set up to be silent study places. They were to give people access to books. Reading rooms were where you went for silent reading spaces, set up by philanthropists for WC people (men) to read newspapers and books to 'better themselves'.

In the past libraries could accommodate spaces for both. These days they don't, they cannot afford to.

Why don't you work at the uni library - there is tons of reference material there for your use, too.

YABU - public libraries are exactly that - PUBLIC>

These days, getting kids into books and away from the TV and videos games etc is an uphill task. Your town is lucky to have a library at all (they are closing all over the country), and it is doing a good job encouraging children and families.

Don't forget - LOTS of families don't have a book in the house - some can't afford them, others have never experienced the joy of reading.

You sound a miserable trout - I will put it down to final year panic.

So did I crunchymint, I didn't have a desk at home so it was invaluable.

YANBU.

The OP is probably home from university and so doesn't have access to her own university library.

If kids want a playpark, they can go to the park. A library is somewhere special, and there's no alternative location for the traditional activities of quiet study, reading, job applications etc.

I pity the older children / teenagers revising for their GCSEs who don't have a quiet place to study at home and need somewhere to go and work quietly, but find it overrun by marauding toddlers.

Fine public libraries are no longer places to actually study or read. That is why I no longer go to my local refurbished open plan play park library.

I think our local library is trying to cull the toddler population. They've recently had a refurb and now the children's section is right by the entrance. The entrance with the newly installed automatic sliding doors that leads straight out onto a busy main road. I've seen quite a few ashen faced parents returning with a recent escapee in their arms.

Cruncymint, yes,

Our local library used to seem to have a few main user groups-
Elderly people
People using computers
Parents with little kids
School age/ young people studying

Last time I went it was basically empty.

They are clearly actively working to reduce footfall so they can shut it down, and it's the same plan in place across the borough. I'm genuinely really angry about it.

Our towns library is now less of a traditional library and more of multipurpose space for the local community. For example the childrens centre is closed so the baby weighing/hv clinic is held in the childrens area meaning lots of crying babies.
I see plenty of people studying in there with headphones on which seems to be a simpke solution.

Lots of kids used to study in there, for children with loud or difficult home lives it was a place of respite, place with loads of learning resources, place to study.

Of course very few people give a toss about kids with fucked up home lives, or too noisy to study etc so that's that.

The OP is probably home from university and so doesn't have access to her own university library. She said there is a Uni library very close. her SU card would get her access to it.

librariestaskforce.blog.gov.uk/2017/04/11/what-does-england-make-of-its-public-libraries/

www.gov.uk/government/publications/libraries-deliver-ambition-for-public-libraries-in-england-2016-to-2021/libraries-deliver-ambition-for-public-libraries-in-england-2016-to-2021

I think it's odd that they can't provide a separate/contained space for either a) those who need quiet working areas or b) the kids.

Given that they apparently can't, it's a question of competing needs. To be honest, I think mums/young kids are more in need of this space than you. There just aren't many child friendly spaces that people can go to for free. It's all very well saying the park, but you can't stay outside all day and the weather is generally shit in this country.

You have a designated space to study in your university library. Surely that's more suitable than a local library anyway? I have more sympathy for those using the library for job applications and so on.

Ironically the volunteers who have stepped up to try to provide a service elsewhere have ended up causing other LAs to see an opportunity to run down services. I am very lucky to work in Scotland where we do not have any volunteer run libraries.

Many people can't work in their uni libraries atm because it's the Easter holidays. I'm three hours drive from my uni library

Op your council may have similar plan-

Fill it with noisy children running about
Lose key library user groups (elderly, people studying, parents with young kids even)
Book borrowing rate shows little demand for actual library
Shut it down and convert to "community centre" which is not something that has to be provided by law (I think there are laws about libraries)
Shut that down and flog the land to developers

Got to be a strong possibility of you're in Camden, we are in a neighbouring borough and this is the sort of thing ours does. These pieces of land are worth ££££££.