Resolution #5. Handle Noise

Obviously a pet peeve of librarians, probably since Egyptian times, and exasperated by cell phone usage in the last decade.

Please don’t get me wrong. Noise itself is not always ignorant. Sometimes it happens and shows a place is alive, celebrating new knowledge or camaraderie. Socializing can be important and well justified when employed in the resupply of knowledge.

“Learn to appreciate the peace and harmony of a room full of thinking people.” (Castles Against Ignorance p.12)

del.icio.us resources – The Noise Pollution Clearinghouse has 29 members sharing it. By clicking on the “number of other members saved by” link, which is highlighted in red, you can view the posting history, going back to 2005. This is an awesome resource, and has a special campaign going on for quiet learning environments.

The above del.icio.us members page has a variety of interesting features. Common tags, user notes, and a posting history are efficient ways for you to grasp the usability, credibility and currency of the resource. All these are vital components of web site evaluation criteria that I taught in my Information Literacy and Research class for Bryant and Stratton College.

Librarything resources- The “Checklist of library building design considerations” is shared by 17 others, some with an interest in acoustical as well as aesthetic design.

And when room signage indicating policies and role modeling don’t do the trick in establishing an effective educational environment, you need to practice Resolution #6….Handle Conflict, coming next!

-Ed Rossman, Interim Branch Manager for the Bertram Woods branch of the Shaker Heights Public Library and author of Castles Against Ignorance: How to Make Libraries Great Educational Environments

Click here to access an archive of Ed’s webinar and a PDF of the slides he used.