Wednesday, July 05, 2006

Staying in touch

If anyone is interested, you can now contact me through Skype* as well as phone or email. Send website, blog, or other library related questions and comments to the Skype name librarybound.

*Skype is free software that allows free PC to PC calls and video calls. You can also use it to call ordinary phones or cell phones, but there is a charge for that.

Speaking of phones, I now very hesitantly bring up the subject of cell phone use in the library. This is just a friendly reminder that if you get or make a call at the library we ask that you go to the entry hall just inside the 6th Avenue entrance or the "Margarete's Garden" area just outside the Cherry Street entrance.

This isn't persecution of cell users and we certainly don't want to bring the stigma of shushing librarians back down on ourselves. It's not even the use of cell phones in and of itself that causes problems, but the fact that some people talk much more loudly into the phone than they would to a person standing next to them, which is disturbing to many other patrons. There wouldn't be a cell phone policy at all if we hadn't gotten complaints about loud one-sided conversations. As is often the case, the misuse of a service by a few has resulted in limitations for everyone.

1 comment:

Beth Bachuss said...

I am researching my family history. Does the library contain records that might help me? I am looking for census and American Indian information.