Food, drink & other things in the library

[starsandsparkles]

The difference you have clearly failed to grasp is between standing in a queue in Tesco with someone for ten minutes, and sitting in the library for hours

[irish200]

The difference you have clearly failed to grasp is between standing in a queue in Tesco with someone for ten minutes, and sitting in the library for hours

Ten minutes, ten hours. How long does it take to catch a cold, to take on board somebody elses germs? seconds. I fail to grasp nothing, and indeed nothing you have just said does anything to strengthen your point about ill people and their right to enter the library. You have no answer to what I said and ignore every point I have made in favour of making a nonsensical point about time periods. Congratulations, your post does nothing but reveal the idiocy behind an idiotic argument.

[guest]

I don't mind ill people. I get the point about sniffing though, it's really annoying when people don't blow their nose after ten minutes of regular snotty inhalations.

[LonelyPilgrim]

If you really NEED music to concentrate on your work, you are mentally deficient. Yes, I said it. You've obviously trained yourself to be that way, and you need to get to work on correcting it, because you're going to run into problems in the workplace in the REAL WORLD if you can't work without your tunes.

I accept your argument, but what about people, like myself, who CHOOSE to listen to music whilst working to block out other distractions?
It's not a necessity, it's a choice.
I don't have to listen to music, but I choose to most of the time, as it can help me pass the time.
Does that still make me "mentally deficient?"

No. Like I said, I prefer to work with music playing as well, quite loudly in fact. But the time and place for that is not the library or anywhere else that another patron has a reasonable expectation for reasonable quiet. So, if you're working at home, or even in a coffee shop, or outside in a park and you have music playing to help you pass the time, more power to you! If you're using a device with headphones (which really aren't that quiet for people around you) in a library, and you are choosing to do so merely to assist you in passing the time when you are quite capable of working without such an aid, then I'd say 'rude' is a more appropriate descriptor than 'mentally deficient.' Call it "mannerly deficient" if you like. :-P

[munchingfoo]

I'm pretty sure disabilities aren't contagious

Neither is sinusitis, and if I sat next to you in the library you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between this and a cold. My point, albeit subtle, was that you cannot discriminate against users of the library using factors outwith their control.

[RedCelt69]

If you're using a device with headphones (which really aren't that quiet for people around you) in a library, and you are choosing to do so merely to assist you in passing the time

Sorry, but that simply isn't true. Not in all cases, at least.

I invest a few extra quid for the ear-bud style earphones, which go quite far into the ears. There's no sound leakage (at the volume I listen to music at) thus no annoyance to those around me. I'm unable to block out extraneous noise, so need to listen to music in order to concentrate. That way, I don't find myself posting a long rant on messageboards about all of the miscellaneous sounds we mucus-generating, liquid-slurping, consumer of noisily-packaged-food-products make.

The music itself needs to be either old and familiar or instrumental. Newer tunes with lyrics tend to distract me as I drift in and out of consciously listening to the words in the song rather than the words on the page/screen I'm trying to read.

Works for me.

[Power Metal Dom]

Not to drag up an old topic but I'm in the library currently and I can see someone who may be the 'a library user' poster, based purely on the fact that the person is sat in plain view wearing big red ear defenders the type a pneumatic drill user might wear I guess library habits really, really do get to some!

[ct3012]

I see him too... That may be taking things slightly too far. Unless he needs them to block out telepathic readings of other people's thoughts... That would be interesting. Because it's not loud at all here other than the printers and noise of reading/working.

[Eiken]

Not to drag up an old topic but I'm in the library currently and I can see someone who may be the 'a library user' poster, based purely on the fact that the person is sat in plain view wearing big red ear defenders the type a pneumatic drill user might wear I guess library habits really, really do get to some!

Pretentious twat.
i think i saw them too.
i had a quiet chuckle to myself. yes, quiet, 'cause i was in the library.

[OKsmartarses]

I invest a few extra quid for the ear-bud style earphones, which go quite far into the ears. There's no sound leakage (at the volume I listen to music at) thus no annoyance to those around me.

How do you know your music can't be heard by others when you're listening to it?

[Fawksie]

I believe he's talking about canal phones, from which very little sound leaks to the surroundings. You'd need to have bloody brilliant ears to overhear the music of someone wearing them from across the table, unless they're playing it at dangerous volume.

[RedCelt69]

How do you know your music can't be heard by others when you're listening to it?

Uhm. Because I asked them? Because I checked out reviews looking specifically for earphones which don't leak sound?

I like my music. I don't necessarily know that people around me like my music, so I don't inflict it on them. Besides, if they want to listen to what I'm listening to, they can damned well go out and purchase the hardware to do so

I believe he's talking about canal phones, from which very little sound leaks to the surroundings. You'd need to have bloody brilliant ears to overhear the music of someone wearing them from across the table, unless they're playing it at dangerous volume.

To quote Duggeh... Indeed!

[Stu le taxi]

Interesting discussion, and while when I was growing up the official view would have been fairly predictable, things are different these days, and I personally despaired when I saw the following letter in the Times, in particular:

Of course, we will provide quiet space for study but if we walk into a library and it’s noisy then it will be a joyful thing. It will be the sound of people having fun and maybe, just maybe, they might come back.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/commen ... 812000.ece

The Government seems to be thinking along similar lines:

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-enter ... 55493.html

[RandomMusings]

It's end of year deadline/exam revision time again so I feel probably the time to resurrect this old thread.

Any new rants this year? The rush for space doesn't seem quite as bad as I remember it being in the past and I've been able to get a seat near a plug socket each time I've been in and wanted one, and I've not really seen any issues with people eating or with short loan myself. However, I am starting to get irritated by mobile phones, which seem to be worse this year. I'm staggered by the number of people who don't switch their phones to silent when they enter the library, and then proceed to have a conversation once it has rung loudly numerous times (whilst looking round the room happily to see everyone glaring at them and proclaiming "I can't speak long, I'm in the library").

Does this annoy others? Am I being fair, or just showing my old, 4th-year, age?
<<let's leave the printers out of this one for now!>>

[Duggeh]

Throughout the semester I've had to correct the placement of books on the short loan shelves, I can only assume because of people photocopying with the machine thats there and then putting the book back themselves without looking.

I'm just glad I won't actually have to revise in the library, not that I've got any time as the gap between my last essay submissions and my exam is 1 day.

[zipporah]

No comments on food (yet) but I was not happy to see the sign announcing that Butts Wynd is out of action for the rest of the year. So to use a computer my options are to queue in the library, go to Swallowgate until 5pm/students get kicked out for staff training, trail round town seeing if there's space in the Bute/Irvine/random PCs or lug my large laptop (+ large, heavy case + heavy commentaries/textbooks/journals) into town and hope I can find a space and plug at a desk somewhere.

I think I'm going to be doing a lot of photocopying of short loan articles in the coming week.

[CheeseDaddy]

I agree with you about phones Random Musings. Maybe its just been bad luck but during my oh-to-frequent spells in the library this semester its been rare not to have someones phone go off nearby. I accept that for a lot of people this is a mistake and if you shut it up quickly, its not really much of a problem but people that then pick up and have a conversation should be shot. Thankfully I'll be revising at home as usual, I honestly cant imagine working in the library over exam time it gets that busy.

[stressed library user]

I was in the library for most of today and yesterday... and wish people would realise that the library's not a place to catch up on who got stupidly drunk last night and got with who... I want to learn about marcroeconomics (as boring as it is); not your social life

And agreed with the mobile phone issue, I was sitting next to a yah who spent 10+ minutes on her mobile complaining loudly about how she couldn't work- which meant the rest of the 4th floor couldn't either. I live in shared private accomodation so working at home's not really an option either. Stricter enforcement of the rules perhaps?

[Thalia]

I always went to the Bute when i needed to use uni computers - there were always plenty available as long as there wasn't a class on plus it's open 24 hours - way better than the library

[irish200]

I always went to the Bute when i needed to use uni computers - there were always plenty available as long as there wasn't a class on plus it's open 24 hours - way better than the library

"Due to the extensive building work underway in the University, it has been necessary to withdraw the larger Butts Wynd Classroom from service. From today, Wednesday 6 May 2009, this classroom will be used as office accommodation for the duration of the building works.

The smaller Butts Wynd Classroom will be available during this period and can be reserved as normal via the University’s on-line booking system. All existing bookings for the larger classroom will be moved to the smaller classroom.

We will endeavour to ensure that access to this classroom is 24 hour, however this may be subject to change at short notice.

The University wishes to apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."