For many college students, the UCF library can be a place of serenity. It’s that one location you can actually get your studying and school work done, leaving behind all your other distractions at home. But every now and then this productive workplace transforms into a chaotic, annoying circus of distractions. The one place you rely on to keep you focused can sometimes be the reason you find yourself re-reading the same paragraph over and over.
Why are we productive on some days, but fail to accomplish anything on others? It all depends on the students in the library. Though most students are pretty respectful, library etiquette is something that some here at UCF are lacking. There are a couple things people do that are really distracting (or even just rude and annoying), making it hard for others to focus. If you think you may be someone who does any of the following things, please make an effort to stop.
- Talking/laughing loudly. If you frequently do this in the library, you have to realize you are making people mad. No one wants to hear your conversation. Junior, Chelsea Holloway, agrees that noise at the library can be a problem, “…the noise level on the 3rd floor sometimes gets out of hand and that’s definitely my favorite floor to study on.” If you and your study group find yourselves doing more loud laughing and gossiping than you are studying, then maybe it’s time you moved locations. Go to the Student Union or a friend’s house, just anywhere but the library. *Hint: If you notice any loud sighs or people glaring in your direction, it’s probably time you zip it or move the conversation somewhere else.
- Using the library computers for non-school related things. It’s bad enough when your laptop crashes and you now have to go to the library to do all your assignments, but it’s worse when you can’t even find a library computer because the people using them are watching Breaking Bad or Facebook stalking. It’s understandable if you occasionally find yourself taking a study break to hit up Facebook, but don’t spend half an hour checking all your social media. Lots of students depend on those computers to get their work done, so please be respectful and keep your personal stuff to a minimum, especially during the school week.
- Falling asleep anywhere. Nothing annoys me more than when I walk up to the second floor to study at a semi-comfy library couch, but find myself out of luck because half of them are filled with sprawled-out, sleeping college kids. I understand that many hours of retaining information can be tiring, but if you find your eyelids slowly start to flutter at your computer desk, please don’t put your head down and sleep for an hour. Someone could be using that computer while you sleep in your comfortable bed at home. It’s a win-win!
- Asking someone to watch your belongings, but then you disappear for an hour. This isn’t too much of a problem, but it’s still something that bothers me. Of course I’ll watch your belongings if you need a bathroom break or want to grab some coffee, but I don’t want to feel responsible for holding your computer for over an hour. Last week in the library someone asked me to watch their things for five minutes. I gladly accepted, but five minutes turned into thirty and I had to leave for class. I felt bad for leaving his stuff unattended, but people have things to do. Just please try to be timely with your breaks.
- Talking on the quiet floor. If you really want to piss people off, go and talk on the quiet floor. The 5th floor is designated for silence so that serious students have somewhere to escape the rest of the library. If you and your best friend head to this floor planning to do some serious studying, but end up talking about your wild night ahead, you probably should change floors. Just try to be respectful of other people. They came to that floor for a reason, and your talking is really going to distract them.
- Listening to your music too loudly. Yes, having headphones in your ears is a sign that you are trying to be respectful and privately listen to your music, but when you have your music on full blast in a quiet library everyone is able to hear them. I’ve had multiple experiences of trying to read a textbook but find myself distracted by loud rap music blaring through someone’s iPod. I become more interested in singing along with the song than I am with reading for class! If you are guilty of this, please just turn your headphones down. You can’t possibly think with them turned that high up anyway.
Though it seems like a topic that should be self-explanatory, proper library etiquette at UCF is something I wanted to address. It’s usually easy to get stuff done in our library, but we all know there are certain students who can sometimes ruin the environment for others. All in all, senior, Derek Lavezzo doesn’t think the library is that distracting. Derek said, “Mostly the students do a good job because everyone basically knows no one can accomplish anything being constantly distracted by others.” Overall, the library still fosters a good learning environment. But if you or someone you know is practicing bad etiquette in the library, please be respectful and inform your friend. We collegiettes thank you.