There are two types of people in college: the people who study in the library and those who don’t. The people who don’t study in the library will tell you the reason they don’t is because of the people who do study in the library. Not everyone who studies in the library is annoying, but the people who are annoying ruin it for everyone else.
At IUP, our library is really awesome. There are different spaces for different activities. The main level is for groups and casual studies. Java City, a coffee shop, is on this level so there is a fair amount of noise that is accepted and tolerated. The next levels up are quiet sections. Across the ‘bridge’ is the area of the library referred to as Stabley, which is where the tutoring rooms are and space where talking is accepted, but quietness is also appreciated. Now, even though one can quickly grasp these ideas when entering our library, some people still struggle to understand these concepts.
A phone call is one of the most obvious unspoken rules about the library that is most commonly broken. It goes unsaid that this is absolutely unacceptable behavior for the quiet and silent areas, however, it still happens. Even in the areas where there can be some noise, phone calls are distracting and inconsiderate. So, if you do receive a phone call, don’t answer it until you are outside.
“Study groups” are also another group that is particularly annoying and distracting. Now, I say “study groups” with quotes because they aren’t actually studying. These groups are just at the library to say they’ve been to the library but aren’t actually productive while they are there. I like to have fun with my friends too, but not in the library. They are loud and disruptive and are typically found in quiet areas of the library.
Now, this person is one that you may not think of but you know them. For some reason, this type of person always ends up sitting next to me while I am the hungriest and this person is the person that brings hot food to the library. I love wings, fries, pizza, pasta and whatever hot food is being offered on campus, however, I do not want to smell it when I can’t eat it. If it’s not my food, I don’t want to smell it. I go from thinking about my English paper to obsessively thinking about hot wings. Not fair.
So, if you are one of these people or think you might be one of these people, please for the sake of everyone trying to learn, take these shenanigans out of the library.