With the end of the semester upon us, the library is a busy place, filled with students putting in long hours writing papers and studying for exams.
Like many libraries, we are having problems keeping the place clean: students bring food into the library when they are not supposed to, bring in drinks that are not in sealed containers, and leave their garbage everywhere. The only fans of this behaviour are the mice, who have reemerged to feast on all the food left behind by the students. Once the food is gone, they will likely start in on the books.
(There is a reason why these policies are in place. We are not just trying to be difficult.)
While the cleaning staff try to stay on top of the problem, it would be far better if students could be made to understand and respect the policies in the first place.
To that end, I am calling on librarians everywhere to pull yourself away from the Internet and take a few minutes every day at different times of the day to take a stroll around your library and ensure that your policies regarding food, drink, and general proper use of the library are being respected.
If know it is difficult to confront a patron who isn't respecting your policies, but instead of thinking about the one person who will be put out because they not be able to eat their carrots or drink from an open cup, think about the 30 students sitting around them who can't get any work done because said individual is too busy crunching and slurping away. Think of the student who needs to read The donut: a Canadian history but can't because some inconsiderate soul spilled coffee all over the library's copy. Think of the student who won't go to the library any more after being surrounded by a gang of ravenous mice!!!
OK, maybe the last one it a bit farfetched, but you get the idea. As librarians, we have an obligation to current and future patrons to preserve the library's collection, facilities, and environment. It may seem very 'old school' to walk around making sure that everything is as it should be, but it needs to be done.
If you are a librarian and won't be taking part in my call to action, I would be interested in knowing why. Do you not have time to keep an eye on the library? Is reprimanding students frowned upon by your library? Is it someone else's job? Should it be someone else's job? Or do you disagree with the library's policies and refuse to enforce them as a matter of principle? Please feel free to chime in with your thoughts and opinions in the comments below.
Monday, December 13, 2010
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Having mice ain't nice!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I feel like the only one here enforcing any of our policies - policies I don't even create! - and I keep getting to be the one who is forced into the role of bad guy.
ReplyDeleteMerci, monsieur. Some patrons seem to think that the library is their own personal man- (or woman-) cave. I spend much of my workday attempting to disabuse them of this notion, for which I am much abused.
ReplyDeleteMy last reference librarian job was at a community college that had recently posted "no cell phones in the library" rule. One day I asked a patron talking loudly in the circ desk line to please hang up her phone (note the signs, see, policy??). This was after a few "excuse me, ma'ams" to try and get her attention and being as all-out polite about it as I could be.
ReplyDeleteShe lodged a complaint with the library directory about how rudely she was treated by the staff and I was reprimanded.
At that point, I called it quits on enforcing any policies.
I agree that all staff members are responsible for enforcing (and adhering to) policies related to food in the library. However, I'm not particularly keen on the image of librarians prowling through the stacks looking for ruler-breakers. [Which I know isn't exactly what you're advocating, but it's the image that comes to mind].
ReplyDeleteChez moi, security staff are assigned to patrol the building, and so looking out for problems is more their purview. It becomes problematic, though, when students are given different messages at different times of the day by different types of staff, all of whom are given a different level of support and empowerment by library administrators.
I think you really hit on the key point: that library users need to "understand and respect the policies in the first place." No amount of policing is going to stop problems; it's more of a cultural issue (meaning the culture of the students in their library habits) and an issue of personal responsibility. Students who don't care about the space and about their fellow users simply don't care about policies that are inconvenient. It's the same way of thinking that leads to the concrete at the library's entrances being completely coated in gum and cigarette butts.
If someone has a solution to shifting library users' mindsets about space and personal responsibility, I'll be glad to know...
I think that there are ways to be present and observant without being overbearing on students. And I think that it is important for librarians to be present in their space, not only to check for rule-breakers, but to provide assistance, to notice when things are out of order, to notice how users are using (or not using) the space, etc.
ReplyDeleteBy inhabiting the space in this way, we care about the space, and we show the students that we care about the place. If we spend time there, push in the occasional chair, pick up the occasional paper or water bottle, help someone out, etc, students will pick up on this. If we take the time to confront people who are behaving inappropriately, the other students pick up on this as well.
I'm fairly new at being a librarian, so it still isn't entirely clear to me who is responsible for what at my institution... so for now I'll continue to do what I can to set an example and improve the situation. :)
For the record, I very much agree with all of the above. There is no hope in changing a culture of disrespect without staff truly demonstrating that they care about the library's space.
ReplyDeleteI also detest the "not my job" syndrome that is so destructive in any organization that provides a service.
So I guess the answer is a tag-team approach: respect from users and staff, and support from administration for staff whose job responsibilities are explicitly to tidy up and enforce policies.
I agree that choosing to "be present" is the key. In the five years I worked in an academic library the cleanest finals periods were the ones where one of the staff (para and pro alike) took five minutes each hour to walk the floors and collect wayward books. Just that action, along with some friendly eye contact, was enough to drastically reduce the trash (both loose and in the cans). It wasn't that the students didn't know our food and drink policy, rather they knew when we cared and when we didn't.
ReplyDeleteAs an aside, one year I was working a second job at a local restaurant. One day, a cook, a student at the college, came up to me to tell me a funny story. His girlfriend had complained that a librarian had yelled at her. After getting the librarian's description he told be he had to laugh. He said, "Cynthia? You sure she 'yelled' at you? Or did she just ask you?" Patrons, especially college kids, can have a skewed idea of rude.