Upon entering the silent zone of the library, I sat opposite an unsophisticated individual who senselessly bonked his keyboard, as if he were releasing pent-up anger.
Everyone sat unheedingly with annoyance written across their faces, yet no one said anything. However, my dagger eyes must have been a cue that I was about to address the elephant in the room because everyone looked jittery, except the culprit, who carried on oblivious to the traditional etiquette of a library's silent zone.
I slightly pulled my adjoining desk away from the preliterate man's desk in an attempt to lessen the vibration, but that was inadequate.
As luck would have it, I jumped into the grave of a man who was adjacent to me, which made everyone, including the brutish man, look around at me.
I resumed working, and by then the uncultured man appeared self-conscious and lightened his fingers before packing up and exiting the premises, to everyone's silent boo-ya.
Did I miss the memo? Is there no longer a need to abide by or police silent zones in libraries?
Back in the day, one of my librarian duties was to maintain quiet and order in a library, which was not limited to verbal communication only.
I think that situational awareness involves more than being able to identify and mitigate physical harm; it also includes people's abilities to curb mannerisms and nuances that are disruptive to others around them in public and private spaces.
Another mixture of low intelligence that irks me is someone holding and staring at their phone with loud successive incoming notifications.
The fella two chairs away from me had this retarded thing going on. He was looking at his phone and responding to incoming messages, yet loud notifications were coming in. That, for me, is the action of an imbecile, but to avoid pointing out the obvious, I turned up my computer volume so he could listen to my melodious Discord notifications.
That did the trick, because he got the idea and silenced his mobile.
There was a level of normality in the library for a few hours, which felt pleasant, and I got the chance to enjoy the warm, comfortable location with an exceptionally great workspace.
Then, suddenly, a man entered and sat two desks away from me. If he were not in plain sight, I would have sworn that he was vigorously lifting weights.
The man must have been thinking with all his 'might' as he tapped away. I chuckled, wondering if I should swap these brochures and put up some "Caution Men at Work" signs.
I understand that it's the modern age and wearing a headset is the norm. However, just because one is wearing a headset doesn't give one the right to be ignorant and discourteous to others in close vicinity.
Libraries here in the UK are government spaces, and this one, in particular, is multi-faceted with activities and sections where people can interact and socialise.
Is it too much to monitor the silent zone or for visitors to observe the rules of being quiet?
All images are mine and were taken at the Newton Abbot Public Library, UK, in January 2024.
