Public libraries are no longer the quiet places they used to be

Now you have violent masturbators getting Tasered by cops in the places once considered reading temples. (KBSD6.com)

Comments

[cherie]

LOL when i read "violent masturbator" all I could picture was some guy masturbating violently .....visual of the day....

[JB]

The Library is open to the public, all of the public.

Sometimes the public includes homeless people that are also knife-weilding, chronic masterbators. Of course, nobody knows what they are until they whip out their weapon (and their knife).

Sometimes homeless people will commit minor offenses in order to be arrested in order to get a free meal and relatively safe place to sleep. Maybe this was the case and it went too far, they just wanted to throw him out and he wanted to be arrested.

[sometimesilie]

"Now you have violent masturbators getting Tasered by cops in the places once considered reading temples"

Hi-effing-larious. I worked in a library for a couple of years and among some of the hi-lights were:

-The middle age dorky looking dude who would masturbate in the Religion section.
-Some guy who would crawl around on his hands and knees and rub womens feet (he got arrested and I think I remember some ass-kickery)
-pOOp
-the ranting anti-gay god-hates-(sinners)you evangelist that got caught pulling it to gay erotica.
-sundry morons asking questions like "Do black people float," "are Eskimos real," and "where is your section on Gnomes?"

[JB]

He was also probably annoyed that he didn't get to "finish". That would piss me off.

[G-Man]

See... they try to blame all of today's problems on watching TV, but look what happens when you read too many books.

[MelMel]

I, like Sometimesilie, worked in a library for a while. We had:

1) Two kids (about 13) having sex in an AV viewing room while their mothers(!) were sitting outside the room chatting. BTW, the rooms had windows.
2) A local organization which helped adults with varying levels of mental disability would bring them to the library for regular field trips. One of them would always crap on the seats :(
3) Lots of masturbators. We had a special disinfectant solution and rubber gloves to clean white spots off the chairs and keyboards.
4) Lots of crazy people, like the guy who told me I would make a great teacher for the indigo children (if the jet trails didn't get me first) or the woman who started screaming and throwing things because we were closing.
5) Lots of creepy people, like the guy who asked me out because I was the nicest person he'd met after serving eleven years for murder.

Still, working at the library has been my favorite job ever :D

[Beyotch Knowles]

Stuff like this is the bane of librarians' existence. Policies are created that force librarians (professionals with master's degrees) to be glorified baby-sitters or social workers. I am a librarian and that is not what I went to school for. I could never work in a public library because of stories like this. Like teachers, librarians are overworked, understaffed and underpaid. I can't think of any other profession that requires a graduate degree that pays so little and requires one to put up with so much nonsense.

[KDP]

I haven't been in a public library in years. In my hometown it was a Carnegie Library, small and quaint. It sounds like only weirdos and masturbators go to a public library anymore.

[Beyotch Knowles]

And if you want a "quiet space," please avoid a libary at all costs. This extends to academic libraries, not just public. Everyone is on his or her cell phone, talking loudly, listening to music without headphones, and just rude in general.

[Jim Romenesko]

I recently complained about a guy yacking loudly on his cell phone in the Evanston library, and suggested that the library institute a no-phones policy. The librarian looked at me like *I* was nuts.

[Dick C. Normas]

Was that a pubic librarie ?

[Dick C. Normas]

/sorry that should be library

[cherie]

Beyotch, I thought I'd seen in an earlier post that you were in the medical profession?

[Beyotch Knowles]

No. I worked (briefly) in a medical library and my mother is in the medical field, but I have always been a librarian.

[Joe]

For those who haven't read it -- there's a good article 'America Gone Wrong: A Slashed Safety Net Turns Libraries and Homeless Shelters' that mentions some of the situations that librarians have to deal with:

http://www.alternet.org/story/50023

[Beyotch Knowles]

Jim, there would be no way to enforce a "no cell phones" policy even if you tried to institute one. No one seems to be able to live without the phone these days, even for an hour. I can't tell you how often I have to tell adults to take their phone calls outside because they're being too loud or to put the phone on vibrate if you are going to get a call every 5 minutes. I work in an academic library so we have designated "quiet areas" but we still have to tell people to get off their damn phones. It sucks being the cell phone police. Again, not what I went to school for.

[Oxhead]

We need private lending libraries, charging, say, $200 a year for an individual membership and $300 for a family. Besides better collections and quieter reading spaces, they would not be constrained by any irritating notions of egalitarianism.

Contrary to their intent, public libraries have basically dumbed themselves down over the years to appeal to the demos, to the point where their primary mission isn't even providing literature to serious readers.

[SwarthyTroll]

So ban the homeless from libraries. Require an ID. Libraries are funded by tax dollars and as such should only be used by taxpayers.

[ssw]

The mental health system has failed to the point where librarians are now having to deal with the schizophrenics and other assorted nutjobs.

[Beyotch Knowles]

The mission of libraries is to provide information to the populace. Librarians take this mission VERY seriously. Once you start requiring IDs, you exclude immigrants, the young, the working poor, etc. That's not what we want. We want to feel safe at work. We don't want to have to worry about being attacked by someone who is mentally ill. We don't want to clean up shit, piss and jizz. I think it would be better if every public library had security in the form of a police officer and the ability to kick out repeat offenders indefinitely.

[cherie]

Ok...we can manage to keep people from using their cell phones in other places of business...why not in Libraries too? Put signs up at the doors stating the phones should be on silent or vibrate and any calls lasting longer than a minute or two should be taken in a designated area. For the few offenders you'd get...you simply ask them to move themselves to that area. We had that policy at a business I worked for years ago,...we only had one drunk guy give us a hassle once. In general I think people are willing to be polite. (Unless you're from the NYC...dont know what to tell you guys)

[Beyotch Knowles]

Cherie, I am not trying to be rude, but when was the last time you were in a library? This policy doesn't work. We do have signs posted. No one cares. No one respects the librarians. I've gotten cursed at and threatened for asking people to take a phone call outside. It's not worth it. Besides, the only people that seemed to be bothered by the excessive talking are me and my fellow librarians. The students are just fine with the noise level, for the most part. If they're not fine with it, they too are too scared to complain. Virginia Tech, anyone? I don't put anything past these kids!

[Howie Feltersnatch]

MelMel: This special cleaning solution you speak of...what is it? (Spooge-Away? Jizz Off? Cum Gone?) I have a, uh, friend who could use a bottle.

[SwarthyTroll]

Beyotch, immigrants, the working poor, and kids all have addresses do they not?

Catering to the dregs of society means that decent people simply stay away, and then you are not providing them with anything.

These days, Barnes and Noble or Borders is more like a library anyway.

[Zwxphtt]

Wow! I'm so out of it. I never go to a library. They assign policeman there now? Wow. That's why I rarely go out.

[PGH_Scott]

I am a librarian in Pittsburgh at the Carnegie Library in Oakland. We have a no cell phone policy for the public rooms. You have to go into the corridor to use one. Also, all phones must be set to vibrate.

We have had our share of bad behavior. Some days are easier than others.

S.

[Jim Romenesko]

In my retirement, I'll volunteer to be the library phone police. And I'll be armed, dammit!

[JD]

Beyotch, you need to move to a smaller city. I live in a suburb of Birmingham and our library has a no cell phones policy and it works fine. I'm sure they have some psychos come in, but for the most part it is a quiet and nice library with a good mix of classic and new crap to read. Get out of the big city rat race my friend, come to the promised land and you'll be happy ;-P

[Rusty]

I guess that guy is going to have to quit 'coming' to the library!

[Maureen]

I don't know about anyone else.I have decided from now on I wear latex gloves when reading a library book. Looks like you never know what could be on them. I used to just worry about the slobs who read books on the toilet. maureen

[Sheila]

The story indicates he was tased because of the knife, not the, uh.... personal activity. At any rate, he is crazy.

[cherie]

Beyotch, I frequently go to the Toledo Public Main Branch which has the good fortune of being one of the largest and oldest libraries in the nation. At no time have I experienced a person speaking loudly or rudely on their cell phones. There is also security present to keep out the homeless because Toledo has it's share and the library is in the heart of the city area.

http://www.toledolibrary.org/about/location.asp?brch=Main%20Library

[cherie]

Beyotch...one last comment. You seem extremely unsatisfied with your working conditions...why dont you seek employment elsewhere? If it is an horrible as you say at your library...
"This policy doesn't work. We do have signs posted. No one cares. No one respects the librarians. I've gotten cursed at and threatened for asking people to take a phone call outside. It's not worth it."

[Beyotch Knowles]

Oh, yes, I am going to quit my job (and not use the degree I spent $18,000 earning) because many patrons are rude? I already said I don't work in a public setting for the reasons outlined in this story and the comments on this site. It's nowhere near as bad for academic librarians. That doesn't mean I don't care about the problems facing other librarians.
You state that the Toledo library has a security guard. Must be nice. MOST libraries do not have this luxury, including mine. We keep signs posted in the back with pictures of the people who have either attempted to assault students or have been caught masturbating, looking at pornography, harassing other patrons, etc. It's not fair that librarians be forced into the position of social worker. It's not what you sign up for when you decide to become a librarian. How would you like it if someone came into your office and masturbated and you were expected to clean it up and were not provided with security to help you out if an even scarier situation arose? Believe me, these are not the types of things being discussed with students while they're in library school.

[Soo]

I miss civility.

[Farmer Bob]

Noisy patrons and violators need to be sterilized. City libraries have been like that for years, and you can't keep the indigent and crazies out because they're public. But same thing with the big university libraries, until my old U started requiring cards to get in. Our suburbian libraries are still oasises(sp?) of calm and full of kids and studious folk.

[Maureen]

I guess I'm lucky. I frequent our local library and had never had a problem. They have a sign on the door asking to shut off cell phones.Most people must comply. I never heard one ring while there. The only time the place is noisy is when there are programs for little kids. That's always happy noise. Maureen

[dep]

My mother has been the county library manager in my hometown for over 30 years now, and in that time her staff has increased from two to seven or so. When I was a kid, she loved that job so much that I always figured I'd grow up to be a librarian. Now, she hates it so much that she's counting the minutes until retirement. And the entire reason for her attitude change is the horrible manners of the patrons. The decline of civility and manners in the last 30 years is astounding. Mom says the worst offenders are the parents who believe their children should be allowed to go wherever and do whatever they want while the parents stand around a chat with each other. So it's a double-whammy of disruptive, rude kids and disruptive, rude parents. What an example!

They don't have security there, but the police station is a block away, and 99% of the officers know Miss Jewel very well and have since we went to school together. It's always amusing to hear about the look on the offender's face when the cops are called and arrive to greet Mom with a hug before they get on with taking the complaint.

[Chantilly Rose]

I'm in a public library right now. Some noisy kids, and people talking (not very loudly, though), but no masturbators. This is a small college town, so the library isn't huge. No place to start jerking off before someone comes around a corner and sees you! And there is a no-cell-phone rule. Either leave them at home or switch them to silent or vibrate before entering. And people actually do it! After all, even land phones have voice mail nowadays. Just a little glimpse of how the rest of us live for all you big-city types.

[Beyotch Knowles]

dep, many people (incorrectly!) believe that libraries are safe havens and will tell their kids to go there after school, in lieu of summer camp, etc. and expect the librarians to baby-sit. Many people who work at my U (whose salaries are mind-numbingly low) will tell their children to hang out at the library all day while mom or dad is at work. So many people don't seem to want to take responsibility for their kids these days. I understand it must be difficult to be a student and raise a family at the same time, but it doesn't mean your kid should be running up and down the stairs while you're writing your research paper! We see that one all the time, too.

[sometimesilie]

I have a great big dog that I used to beg to be allowed to bring to work because I've noticed that people phrase things a little more civilly when he's around. They didn't let me, something about liabilities. That and the dumb dog probably would not attack anyone even if they were beating on me with a stick of pepperoni...which could be nice...I gotta go to l u n c h.

[cherie]

We live very close to a turnpike exit/entrance. My daughter worked at the turnpike rest stop for a while, I've had friends that have worked in local businesses that are also near the exit/entrance and let me tell you....they have all seen the dregs of society. Masturbators in the businesses, hitch hikers (yes they do still exist) crazies, drunken weirdos...its not just for libraries anymore. I have worked in the recruitment industry for years, starting out in a local staffing firm, we found people for $7.00 hr jobs, and the people that came to our office were beyond gross. That is a big reason why I left that part of the industry to something more professional and pleasing. No matter what...if your job sucks and you're not happy, you can find something else.

[Dick Tater]

The time for public libraries has come and gone. Perhaps they were useful before the internet, but no longer. Why provide a public service if people abuse it? I would close them overnight and - voila - problem solved.

As for the homeless, they should be rounded up and placed in work camps clearing roadsides, picking up trash and other similar work. If they don't want to earn their keep (room and board), place them in a separate wing and let them starve to death.

[Greg]

There is a big difference between using a library and hanging out at the library. Anyone who spends hardearned money on books needs to seriously consider why they are wasting their funds. What happens to the book after you finish reading it? Usually it just gathers dust on your bookshelf. I normally wouldnt spend too much time re-reading books considering how many there are out there which I havent read yet. What a waste of resources and money to buy books. Simply go online and use your local library's web site to request the book you want be held for you. You can go in and pick it up and be gone in less than 2 minutes. Plus, you save money and natural resources.

[sometimesilie]

"Anyone who spends hardearned money on books needs to seriously consider why they are wasting their funds. What happens to the book after you finish reading it?"
----
Well Greg, what do you propose we burn instead at DT's next book burning?

[V]

The homeless masturbators, of course.

[Ima Jussayin]

Beyotch, you sound like you are already burned-out at your job. To think you spent all that money to persue a career that you now hold so much animosity for.

No wonder your posts are so bitter.

[itsjustmebut...]

I am an assistant librarian and I have been for three years. Libraries are TERRIBLE places to work, and before you comment that I should be looking for another job...I am!! The libraries were not like they are now until they decided to add in the internet and computers. You have all kinds of weirdos looking for their next boyfriend, chatting (even though we have filters that are supposed to block that!), and doing other things that are definatly not school work or research related! People drop their children off here like it is some kind of child care service facility. I live in a town with only 2,100 people and we still get 95% weidos because all the good sane people don't want to come in and deal with the other that is going on. We also have a no cell phone use policy and actually have people who will get hostile towards you when you ask them to step outside. For those who think librarians have it made, come spend a week in my life!!!!

[itsjustmebut...]

I am an assistant librarian and I have been for three years. Libraries are TERRIBLE places to work, and before you comment that I should be looking for another job...I am!! The libraries were not like they are now until they decided to add in the internet and computers. You have all kinds of weirdos looking for their next boyfriend, chatting (even though we have filters that are supposed to block that!), and doing other things that are definatly not school work or research related! People drop their children off here like it is some kind of child care service facility. I live in a town with only 2,100 people and we still get 95% weidos because all the good sane people don't want to come in and deal with the other that is going on. We also have a no cell phone use policy and actually have people who will get hostile towards you when you ask them to step outside. For those who think librarians have it made, come spend a week in my life!!!!

[sometimesilie]

"The homeless masturbators, of course."
---
LOL! Let's just hope that they still have the "juice" to burn!