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Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about library etiquette…For the regular library patrons among us: do you have your own idea of what constitutes proper library etiquette? Is there anything you always try to do? Anything you hate when others do?
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Between work, friends and my own borrowing I spend a fair amount of time in libraries. In fact I'd probably spend around eight hours every week in various libraries. As such, I see how a lot of people behave in libraries and have developed some very strong pet peeves - and now I'm wondering if I'm the only one!
There's the usual, of course - people being too noisy, dog-earring books, never returning them - but there's other things that I've come to dislike that I never thought would bug me. Like people returning books to the shelves with the spine facing in. I realise that not everyone is library-saavy, and that they may return it to the wrong spot - but back to front? really? It bugs me.
Another thing is when people leave their searches open on the collection computers. You only have to press one button ('New Search') to get a fresh page, but people NEVER do it. And then when the next person steps up, you're met with their search terms - and people look up some odd things.
And lastly - the people who wait until the 'This library will be closing in five minutes' call to come up to the desk with a question that's going to take five hours to answer. And they do it, every time.
As for things I try to do - well, firstly the opposite of all of these, because I know they bug me. I always try to keep the book tidy, returning it without the receipt or envelopes being used as bookmarks. I use the self-check machine and split my returns up in the tray (NF, F, YA) so they're easier to shelve, and usually take most of them back myself.
What about you? Any pet peeves?