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Noisy Season Gets Early Start at Library

Noisy Season at the Wheelock College Library officially opened at 10:42 Tuesday morning, when the Library staff received the first TalkBack complaint of the semester about Quiet Zone disrespectors.

Typically beginning right after the Thanksgiving break, the Noisy Season has been getting noisier in recent years, but this is the earliest onset since records have been kept. Library Director Brenda Ecsedy said the season is the result of the convergence of several factors.

“As we get later into the semester Library usage increases, and the stress of patrons using the Library increases,” she said. “As more offices and functions come into the building, and as we increase enrollment, the usual noise escalation is compounded. It isn’t surprising really that the season has opened earlier than usual, but this is even ahead of any predictions we had.”

Associate Director Ann Glannon noted that the Library is taking steps to keep the season from getting out of control. “As soon as we got that TalkBack message, we knew we had to act quickly to contain the spread of noise. Once it gets out of control, it’s hard to pull back.

“So we are increasing staff monitoring of the building, and will be posting reminders in the Quiet Zones. We’ve alerted the other offices in the building to the early arrival of Noisy Season so they can assist in curbing unnecessary volume as soon as they hear it.”

Patrons who encounter Noisy Season violators are asked to politely encourage them to reduce the noise, or to alert Library staff if they are uncomfortable directly addressing the perpetrators.


Library Code of Conduct (a.k.a. Shhhh

Yes, we have one.

For many years we have not advertised or explicitly reminded Library users of the standards for behavior, believing self-regulation and peer enforcement to be the preferred methods for ensuring a safe, secure, and welcoming environment conducive to study and research. But the survey of students we conducted last spring told us otherwise. It was very clear from your comments that many of you did not find the Library conducive to study and research because it was noisy. And that you wanted Library staff to do something about it.
To make the expectations of appropriate behavior explicit and clear, we have posted the Code of Conduct on the Library’s webpage and physically in the building, and staff members are actively working to rebuild a culture of respectful peace and quiet. We invite you to join us. The easiest way to make the Library quieter is for all of us all to be quiet; simple, but not necessarily easy. So we may at times remind you of the community’s need for the Library to be a quieter place, a.k.a. Shhhh…

Shhh… Librarian image copyright Farmington Public Library Foundation; used with permission. Order your own Shhh…Librarian Gear today!