By Juliett Marie Villegas
Libraries have lost their silent appeal.
The East Los Angeles College library has become a gamble for students trying to find a quiet place to read or study. What kind of atmosphere will a student bewalking into?
The usual noisy atmosphere where groups of friends meet at a table or sit in an aisle nearby and begin talking in a whisper that gradually turns into a full blown conversation, even with a poster reading “Silent Study Area” is upbehind them?
Or will it actually be the quiet and suitable place intended for productive study time in a minimallydistracting area?
Students may think that a resolution to this nuisance would be booking a study room if people plan on working with chatty friends but, somehow, that turns out to be worse.
In a study room, students are under a false pretense of sound security.
Students may think that the walls and a door stops the volume of their
voices from being projected out into the lawless world of the library, but it doesn’t.
Instead, the whole floor willhear the loud and muffled sound oflaughter and talk.
It’s as though the library has lost its essence. Hardly ever do its occupants turn to look at their surroundings and acknowledge the notices which state that the walls are thin so, “keep the talking to a minimum.”
Some students ignore the fact that the library prohibits distracting activities such as talking and laughing, eating crunchy foods or foods that come in loud packaging, listening to loud music, making phone calls and however else people get creative with their exasperating tendencies.
There are many places outside of library walls to socialize with friends, especially in the areas surrounding the campus.
There should be no reason to come to the library with the intention of sharing gossip, catching up with an old friend or whatever other reason that will include incessant chatter while other students are working hard, studying and trying to maintain focus.