Why are we all so important?
As the previous post indicates, I spent a mostly happy day in the Local History and Archives at Hamilton Public Library. I say mostly because I was flabbergasted by the breathtaking rudeness and lack of consideration of another patron.
Don't get me wrong, I am not the old school believer in total silence in libraries; quiet conversation is fine and I can concentrate through most things, even on the most dense and abstruse text, but not when someone sits opposite me at the work table and has a loud and lengthy conversation on her cell phone!
When I first saw this woman get her phone out, I thought that she was probably going to text someone, but no she was calling a friend to let her know where she was and what she had found that might be useful. She proceeded to list everything, page numbers, sources, where else she was going to look and, of course, she just had to be one of those people who thinks you need to talk that little bit louder than normal when on the phone.
Now I always switch my phone off when in the Archives, and would do so even if T hadn't programmed it to play Sweet Home Alabama loudly (the only way to get my attention quickly). If I needed to make a call, I wouldn't even consider not leaving the quiet area to do so because I wouldn't want to disturb other people.
So, my question stands in a slightly amended form - why do some people think that they are so important that they do not have to consider those around them?
Don't get me wrong, I am not the old school believer in total silence in libraries; quiet conversation is fine and I can concentrate through most things, even on the most dense and abstruse text, but not when someone sits opposite me at the work table and has a loud and lengthy conversation on her cell phone!
When I first saw this woman get her phone out, I thought that she was probably going to text someone, but no she was calling a friend to let her know where she was and what she had found that might be useful. She proceeded to list everything, page numbers, sources, where else she was going to look and, of course, she just had to be one of those people who thinks you need to talk that little bit louder than normal when on the phone.
Now I always switch my phone off when in the Archives, and would do so even if T hadn't programmed it to play Sweet Home Alabama loudly (the only way to get my attention quickly). If I needed to make a call, I wouldn't even consider not leaving the quiet area to do so because I wouldn't want to disturb other people.
So, my question stands in a slightly amended form - why do some people think that they are so important that they do not have to consider those around them?