Sir, – It was reassuring to read Hugh Linehan's article on the future of libraries in the digital age ("Shh, something strange is going on in the library", Culture Shock, May 28th).
As a user of the dlr LexIcon library in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin, I experience the library’s interface with technology in a very positive way. However, being within earshot of mobile phone conversations is a downside. Recently while reading in the newspaper area, I was willy-nilly an eavesdropper on someone else’s plans for cooking dinner. Drama was added to the situation when the woman redialled to make changes to the menu.
Moving to another area to be out of earshot, I found there were children at play.
I enquired at the desk whether there was any anti-noise policy, as I did not find the atmosphere reader-friendly. The reply was that mobile phones had “always” been allowed. Not a very satisfactory answer! The librarian also pointed out that there were designated quiet areas in the building. I would have thought that, in a library, the default situation would be for quiet areas, with designated spaces for conversation or play, not the other way round.
Jeffrey Schnapp’s idea of “voluntary disconnection” could be extended to freedom from noise in libraries, it seems to me. – Yours, etc,
CARMEL HEANEY,
Blackrock,
Co Dublin.