Remember when “shhhh!” was stridently enforced in libraries?

Sometimes, that kind of quiet is exactly what we seek. I recently wandered into the Community Room, where folks were silently ensconced in reading on a sofa, writing at a table, and working at a computer. Looking into the rooms around the balcony, I see so many of you quietly practicing Tai Chi together, working remotely, or watching a webinar with headphones in one of our upstairs rooms. Offering a public space for community members to sit together in comfortable silence is magical. 

At the same time, the library functions as a joyful community space filled with discussions, laughter, and even music! Just last Saturday, over 140 people attended the first concert in the Frieda Fishman Stroh Free Concert Series. We’re already looking forward to our next musical performance. Va-et-vient will fill the library with French tunes on Saturday, April 27th. You’ve infused the Community Room with conversation at programs like our Fiber Arts Circle. We cherish the oodles of toddlers and their caregivers who gather in the Children’s Room for Friday morning Storytime and informal playgroups. The LEGO Robotics teams’ teens and tweens boisterously collaborate in Bixby Hall. And we know that sometimes staff conversations and laughter on the Mezzanine can become so animated that it travels throughout the marble lobby.

The Bixby can be both! The staff team put our heads together to turn the Vermont Room, right off the lobby, into a "Quiet Room." You can close the glass door, and the air purifier does double duty as a white-noise machine. We’ve been using the beautiful pocket doors in the Children’s Room to keep sound from traveling into the lobby and throughout the building; plus, we found just the right historic door to close off another opening. And the staff is working to curb the volume of our enthusiasm on the Mezz.

So come to the Bixby to be quiet, to have conversations, and to enjoy your library. 

Any other ideas and suggestions? I’m all ears!