Library Correspondence: What’s with the signs?

To whom it may concern: I am writing as both an overly stressed out student of our University and a frequent patron of the central library. I am writing to […]


To whom it may concern:

I am writing as both an overly stressed out student of our University and a frequent patron of the central library. I am writing to complain that the new signs which now populate the entrance, main hall, and stair cases of that library are unnecessarily obnoxious, passive aggressive, hyperbolic, and antithetical to the environment that any university library should strive for. 

First, let me start off by saying that our library is obviously much more than a large closet full of books. For many of us (mainly art students), it is one of the few places in town which functions as a public study space. The library is much better at improving the mechanics of that function: there are far more seats and study places than there were two years ago. The goal of any university sponsored study place, though, should also be to create an environment that fosters the mental health of those residing in it. Creating signs that replicate crime scenes, compare students to zombies, and evoke Orwellian metaphors, not only neglect this goal, but are decisively regressive.  

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My point is that aesthetics matter. Even if these signs were created with good intentions (keeping transitional spaces quieter, study spaces cleaner, and notifying us that the library won’t close when the sun sets), filling my study space with signs that constantly remind me how obnoxious, irresponsible, and mindless I am is not going to improve my study experience. 

Sincerely, 

Lewis Kopman

P.S. 

Why are there eyes on the signs (that’s right, they don’t even say it, they just whine at us)? Last time I checked, eyes as a sensory organ were poor at recognizing sound. This makes little sense to me. Unless it is designed to evoke some subliminal message that we are constantly under observation, or at least that we can never be sure that we are not. 

Lewis is not the only one to have complained about the new library signage, here is a video made by frequent library users who described it as, “an obnoxious response to an obnoxious sign”.

Disgruntled 4th year Emily K Allen took some action and completed a comment card complaining about the signs. She received the following response from the library:-

“I’m sorry that you’re not a fan of the signs with the quotes from other students about noise on the stairs – you’re not the only person who has expressed this view!  

The QUIET signs are going to remain permanently but we are planning to remove the quote signs by the end of the semester.  We will also modify the signs on the doors leaving level 2 so that the eye design is either less prominent or removed altogether.

But I’m afraid the noise levels on the stairwell had become so excessive that we felt we needed quite a stark approach with this campaign.  The evidence is that the noise on the stairs is far better since the signs went up, something we were keen to improve in the lead up to exams.”

 

images © Dani Goldberg