Living & Arts

Singing, cell phones and YouTube in the library, oh my!

In print | February 28, 2008

The week before spring break is by far the second most stressful part of the Spring semester. Nearly every professor has assigned a major piece of work that is due right before we all go on vacation, which means that just when you most desperately need a quiet place to study, Cornell, Underhill and McCabe are the most crowded. So now seemed as good a time as any to review library etiquette.

Let us briefly review the activities which, when performed in a library, are found objectionable. Singing, for example. Singing is best done where it can be properly appreciated, like a stage. While your rendition of “99 Red Balloons” might be technically perfect and soulfully brilliant, we find it hard to digest with our seminar readings. Also, if we may be so bold as to say so, did you know that wearing headphones does not mean that other people cannot hear you sing? That’s a bit like wearing a facemask and thinking you are invisible. Additionally, wrestling, swing dancing or other performances which, if gone awry, might cause bodily or mental harm to standers-by should be avoided. Once-a-semester performances/interruptions (hello naked rugby players!) we will overlook.

Singing and dancing are not the only kinds of performances observed in the libraries: radio broadcasting also seems to occur pretty regularly. Sometimes, when there is something that someone wants everyone to know, like that they just got the summer job of their dreams, or that they aren’t at all upset that their ex-girlfriend is dating a spec, they will walk around in the library telling everyone with whom they are acquainted the story in a loud voice. The desire to make this kind of announcement is natural. In fact, it is largely responsible for the popularity of Facebook, which is exactly where it belongs.

The most common form of broadcasting carries the message, “Hey, look, I have friends,” and consists of having loud conversations with said friends in the library. We think it’s great that you have friends. Bully for you. But if you continue to speak to them above a whisper, you’ll soon have enemies, too. There is nothing wrong with talking on the main floors of the libraries (although quiet floors should stay, ahem, quiet), but there isn’t any reason that anyone not sitting at the same table as you should be able to hear your conversation about what Jennifer Garner wore to the Oscars. Some people also try to play misery poker with everyone in earshot in a similar way: by keeping a running commentary on how difficult their work is out loud. Not only is this obnoxious, it also scares us.

The urge to share YouTube videos and music with your friends without the benefit of headphones should be studiously repressed. If Mairin had her way, the entire world would be introduced to the joys of last year’s Ukrainian entry to the Eurovision Song Contest. That does not mean that she is going to make the entire library listen in on Verka Serdyuchka shouting “Eins, zwei, drei!” three hundred times, no matter how delightful.

Cell phone ring tones are basically YouTube videos that begin playing of their own free will, and the same rules apply: they need to be put in silent mode in the library. Your phone calls are of no interest to the rest of the school. Everyone knows that if they were, you’d be having them in private. If you don’t want to make the person calling think you are ignoring them, it is acceptable to answer, but only to say, “Can I call you back in five minutes?” in a hurried whisper. Pack up quickly, go to a stairwell, the talking floor, or outside, and call them back.

If you are worried about losing your spot, it is acceptable to leave some books or your coat on the chair. With the rash of thefts in McCabe, we understand not wanting to leave anything valuable unattended for any length of time.

At the same time, if you expect your seat back, you need to leave some indication that you intend to return. An empty coffee cup and a banana peel are insufficient to establish your right to an entire table. They could just as easily indicate that you’re irresponsible with your garbage as that you’re going to come back. Similarly, a single sheet of scrap paper and a gum wrapper won’t cut it. We need to see some commitment.

Despite occasionally wishing that the libraries were monastery-like refuges for the life of the mind (and wishing that the librarians were given cattle prods to discipline miscreants) we’ve come around to accepting that our libraries serve as social spaces as well, and that there are times when all bets are off.

We’re thinking specifically of McCabe from approximately 10:10 p.m. – 10:40 p.m. on weeknights, as waves of students hungry for animal crackers and human interaction stampede towards the magazine room.

It’s good to see everyone emerge from their dusty carrels and mingle for a brief moment in library love. But that doesn’t mean it’s time for singing.

Molly and Mairin are seniors. You can reach them at mpiels1@swarthmore.edu and lodle1@swarthmore.edu.