The Trible Library. What a wonderful place. The “Trib Lib” can often feel like our home away from home when that big project or paper comes around, during midterms and finals, or just general everyday studying. However, we do have to remember that the library isn’t our personal playground, and that hundreds of other students may be using the facility as well. Most people would rather be doing anything else than spend the whole day in the library, so we have to remember to be courteous to our fellow library goers. Here is some general libary etiquette to follow during those long days spent in “The Lib” that we all have to endure!
1. Please try and be as quiet as possible
It can be extremely irritating when you are trying to study and the library is full of noise. The library is not a mixer or a bar. It should be a place where people trust that they can get a lot of work done. It is perfectly okay to go to the library with your friends, in fact that might ease the pain of having to spend all of Sunday trapped within the walls of the library and not seeing the sun for eight hours. However, it is not okay to be talking very loudly or walking around talking to all of the people you know. It is distracting and rude. Save the gossip and the banter for the dining halls. If you find that you are having a hard time concentrating and that you need a break, go over to Einstein’s and get coffee or a snack, or when dinner rolls around walk over to Regatta’s. It is understandable for there to be a little bit of noise, so whisper if you need to tell somebody something!
2. If you are lucky enough to get a study room, use it wisely!
Finding a study room that isn’t occupied is rare, so if you are lucky enough to find an empty study room, use it wisely! Too often, I see people in these rooms howling with laughter or just goofing off when they should be getting down to business. Don’t get me wrong, I love to have a good time, and studying can suck but it also sucks when you have a group project and all of the rooms are taken by people who should have stayed in their dorms. These rooms are perfect for group projects, and they are a rare find, so use them well!
3. Speaking of group projects, DON’T DO THEM IN THE MAIN PART OF THE LIB!
This contributes so much to the noise in the library, and it is almost as annoying as the people who gossip and talk about nothing! We all hate actually doing group projects, so we don’t really want to hear the details of yours. There are so many places to go to do group projects that aren’t the main part including: EINSTEIN’S, study rooms, rooms upstairs, study rooms in the residence halls, classrooms in the academic buildings, etc.
4. No one wants to hear your music
We have all forgotten to plug our headphones into our laptops/phones, and that is understandable. What is not cool is when you have your music turned up so loud that the people around you can hear it through your headphones. The library is loud sometimes, but it isn’t that loud that you need to make even more noise with your music.
5. …or watch your Netflix
This one might seem a little far-fetched, but I can’t tell you how many times I have seen this and had a reaction that was mixed with confusion and fury. Why would you even come to the library if you are going to watch Netflix?? Stay in your bed if that is your plan for the day! Needless to say, watching Netflix in the library where you should be studying is not only strange, but could also be distracting to those around you, so please stay home.
6. For the love of everything holy, don’t talk on the phone
This is one of the most obnoxious things that you can do in the library. If someone calls you, let the phone ring(on silent or vibrate) until you can step out of the library. Your mom will understand if you don’t pick up her call immediately! It’s not that big of a deal to step outside the library to take your phone call. In fact, I wouldn’t want a hundred other people to listen to my phone call anyway, so take it outside!
7. Be especially quiet in the quiet rooms
I think that this goes without saying. You don’t have to be so quiet that you can’t move, but please, please, please don’t talk in the quiet rooms. Those rooms are specifically for quiet study, and if there is noise in there, then there is no hope left in the world.
8. Keep the PDA to a minimum
It’s okay to be cutesy every once in a while, but please don’t make out in the middle of the library or be constantly touching your partner. Also, don’t spread out on the couches with your S.O. or canoodle in the stacks. It is annoying and distracting. If you want to do all that, get a room please.
9. Try not to hog the outlets
The outlet situation in the library is already not great, but when one person is using too many at one time or is using an outlet the entire time when their battery is full, it gets ridiculous trying to find somewhere to plug in your laptop. If your phone and laptop are dying, just use the outlet for your laptop and plug your USB charger into your laptop and that way you can still charge both. Also if you come with your friends, it is easier to switch off if the outlets are limited.
10. Learn to use the printers, for real.
Alright people, we are in college. The printers are NOT that hard to use. It is a pain in the butt when you are trying to print something before class and someone still has not figured out that all you do is push the big blue start button. If you are really having trouble, ask someone in line behind you or step out of line to get someone to help you (might I recommend the IT and Circulation Desks).
11. Be careful with the foods you bring in
If you have particularly smelly or loud foods, it is probably best to eat them where there aren’t at least 50 other people around you trying to study in peace. Loud wrappers can be very annoying, and the odor of smelly foods can linger for hours, so be kind to our ears and noses please!
12. Be nice to your Baristas (and other library workers)!
It’s okay, we all need our coffee. Especially during finals week; it is all high stress all the time. It is okay to be stressed and use coffee to stay awake, and Einstein’s is great no matter what time of year it is. That being said, keep in mind that the employees of Einstein’s are all students just like you and are doing their absolute best to get your orders right. It does get really hectic and the Baristas can only go so quickly. Many of the other workers in the libary are students as well, and they are working hard to get those paychecks as well as balancing school, so be kind to them!
13. Pick up after yourself!
No one wants to pick up after you. Whether it be gathering your straw wrappers in Einstein’s or pushing in your chairs, these are simple tasks that help keep our library clean. Other people will probably be sitting where you were, so please be courteous and pick up after yourself before you vacate your seat.
14. Just breathe… and focus
Going to the library might not be everyone’s favorite thing to do, but we have to remember why we are there in the first place. The library should have that great studying vibe, minus the noise and the distractions. It’s okay to whisper or talk quietly, just be mindful of the people around you. If you are feeling overwhelmed by your studying/paper/project, take a short break and walk it off, but get back to it. We are all in the same boat, and being courteous to those around you will help everyone in the long run.