Noises in the library.

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Back in the old days what you heard in the library was "shhhh" nowadays you hear lots of talking.

Ugh. I haven't gone to the library in years, but I think people need to speak up (quietly) and complain to the librarians about this nonsense.

Yeh, and noise spilling out of headphones, plus people making calls on mobile phones, plus people laughing hysterically at some YouTube video, plus....well, you get the picture. Even the staff can be a damn nuisance with their loud conversations.

About six months ago, there was a vicious gang fight in our local library, to which the police had to be called.

You speak to the librarians about it, and they come back at you with a load of guff about the need to be inclusive, non-judgmental, etc. I very rarely visit the library these days, for this very reason.

Damn, I was hoping this was a ghost story thread.

Libraries used to be peaceful public places. Now they've somehow become playgrounds for kids. Seriously, some libraries in Essex actually have a day care type of thing going on. I don't know which genius thought that one up.

Sometimes in our local library on a Saturday afternoon, a very loud group of musicians is brought in to 'entertain' the customers. Makes reading or using the computers pretty much impossible.

Many libraries seem to have also become day-time shelters for the homeless. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but I'm getting tired of having to check my chair for discarded needles and keep my backpack on my lap while I work so that it doesn't get stolen … again ...

I concur. At a library I was at earlier today, a restroom that I used was a mess and needed to be cleaned. In fact, it seemed as if the mess was caused by a homeless patron who is a regular.

That was not exactly a bad thing to see, but an employee at the front desk did call a janitor.

Things I dislike in the library:

Kids screaming and running around as though the floor is a running track. Take the kids to the park instead of the library.

Patrons who reek of body odor or strong perfume/cologne

Filthy restrooms

Angry people who start fights with each other

By the time I was in library school in the 90s, the shushing librarian was already a stereotype the profession wanted to leave in the past. As an earlier poster mentioned, a desire to be inclusive and welcoming has replaced the expectation of silence.

Especially when the librarian is the one making all the noise