Archival photos of four children's reading rooms in the New York Public Library system appeared as a back page feature in the New York Times Book Review (November 12, 2023). The photos were gathered by Erica Ackerberg, the Book Review's photo editor.
Out of the four photos, the one that especially caught my attention is the photo taken in 1903 in East Harlem's Aguilar branch, named, said the caption, for Grace Aguilar, a 19th-century Anglo-Jewish writer. Above the checkout counter was a sign that said in big letters SILENCE.
I'm old enough to remember the days when libraries were quiet sanctuaries for bookworms like me. They were places where speaking loudly was unthinkable. Not anymore. And it's not just the patrons. The library staff, not setting a good example, are just as loud.
The only time a patron is admonished is when their mobile phone starts to ring. "Please turn your phone off in the library," a library staffer will announce. Otherwise, the loud talk is ignored and not a word of disapproval is uttered by the librarian or other library employee.
No comments:
Post a Comment