P W

Lovely space but I have never been in a library in which the staff themselves are SUPER loud. They don't make any effort to speak quietly at all, quite to the contrary. There seems to be no awareness for the fact that they are in a library. I'm not saying they need to act like church mice, I'm saying they are LOUD. They also seem to think their back office area is sound proof. They are even loud compared to typical office chatter. Much louder than a coffee shop. They sound like they are working in an outdoor depot. The space is cavernous and therefore echoes. They'd be loud even without that affect, but with it, you can't escape (I tried). One of them clunks around in loud heels providing a stiletto back-beat to cacophony.

The irony is that most library visitors are quiet and carry themselves with the soft demeanor that is typical of, well, libraries. However, the staff's behavior is contagious, and any time a guest interacts with them (say to look for a book), they start conversing loudly together, like they're out on the street or something. The whole reason people keep it down in libraries is bc they're met with quiet upon entering.

Btw, I'm a young male and don't mind a bit of noise. This is just ridiculous and really annoying if you're actually trying to get some work done, study, or read a book. There is a difference between the constant drone of a busy space, and the incessant piercing STAFF voices. I'm wearing nice Sony noise cancelling headphones, with a sound blocker playing, and it's not quite cutting it.

These people, the contra-librarians (rsrs), are oblivious. Perhaps a quart low. Strange, unordinary, annoying af, and a shame.