The Northern Star has frequently commented on, and published the comments of others, about the noise in the university libraries.

There is a lot of variation noise, but the total noise generated by library users moving among the stacks, writing or even turning pages, shifting volumes from shelf to table, or speaking quietly to a neighbor on a joint project, can be distracting to others.

And sometimes, people push the limits of patience of others when they, deliberately or otherwise, continue normal conversations or make irritating sounds while in the library.

It’s my impression there are few of us who haven’t distracted others a few times in the library, but patience is thinner around exams or when major assignments are due, or when other stresses occur.

The high-tech kind of library we have at NIU requires some sound just to keep operating, but most of us have adjusted to that kind of ambient sound and have learned to work within it.

The university libraries have had, for several years, security personnel who have many responsibilities.

They respond to emergencies of all kinds within the library; they keep good eyes on users exiting the building to be sure they are not taking materials that have not been checked out.

They regularly move around the building at Founders Memorial Library to help keep noise down.

It occurred to me that the next couple of weeks before spring break and before the end-of-semester tensions would be a good time for people to let the security guards know how much they are appreciated.

“A policeman’s life is not a happy one,” as Gilbert and Sullivan might say.

It’s not easy to be a monitor, and there are times when they are virtually reviled and ridiculed while they are doing their job.

are indeed are the times they receive any thanks, even from the library user who may have asked them to come to “quiet down” some noisy neighbors.

And, once we admit no one is perfect, and that the library may from time to time be noisier than we might like, we should recognize that without these monitors, this little piece of the world might be even farther from perfection.

So—why not smile, say thanks, drop a note to, or just wave to the security personnel when you see them in the library? We all benefit from their work and it would be nice to admit it to them once in a while.

Peggy Sullivan

Director

University Libraries