Cell Phone Usage - Reminder of Noise Policy/Rule

Greetings,

I just wanted to send a quick reminder for everyone to share with staff. While we do not have a policy that forbids cell phone use, there is a policy that forbids "any loud, unreasonable, or disruptive noises". This specifically includes "those from electronic and communication devices"-whether it be a ring-tone or a conversation held on a cell phone. I have heard from a few customers that staff have told them that we have to allow all cell phone usage no matter if it is loud and disruptive. This is definitely not the case.

Using the policy above, if there is any excessive noise--be it from a cell phone, a face-to-face conversation, or anything else--based on a staff member's judgment and/or a customer complaint, staff and/or security need to enforce the rule by asking the customer making the loud noise to lower their volume. In the case of cell phones, it is perfectly reasonable to ask someone to turn down or silence a ring-tone and lower the volume of their conversation. If the customer persists in speaking too loudly, staff should ask them to continue their call outside or in a more appropriate spot in the building. They can and should use this rule as backup for this.

Moving forward, this is a topic that will be discussed and reexamined in Policy and Procedure meetings to see if the rule needs to be reconsidered or adjusted. However, in the interim, it is important that staff know the existing rule and use it to address excessively loud disturbances in our libraries.

Please let me know if you have any questions on this issues or suggestions on this perennially popular topic.

Thanks,

Mike VC