I DROPPED by the Esplanade Library last Saturday.

Libraries are places where one of the golden rules is silence. Of course, I was shocked to find a one-hour concert had been scheduled in the library at 5pm.

A crowd gathered and the male and female performers' voices boomed loudly as they spoke and sang. There was a medley of English and Mandarin songs.

I have some questions:

• How many library users, who did not join the crowd, would appreciate the noise level of the performances and the applause from the crowd?

   

• Is the library not a place where silence is practised and users are reminded not to speak to one another as it is not a place for conversation?

   

• Would other ethnic groups present be able to appreciate the Mandarin songs?

   

• If the library has laid down one of its rules as silence, why does the management contradict its own rules by permitting noise in the library with live performances?

My second observation is that library staff take different stands towards individuals and groups. Permit me to explain.

At 5.30pm the same day, I made a one-minute call at a corner of the Esplanade Library and I was told by an elderly security guard that no phone calls were allowed in the library as it contributed to the noise there.

A user beside me said the noise from the performances was even worse than my phone call. However, the security guard said I was to observe the rule that phone calls are not allowed in the library and asked me to make my call outside. I ended the call.

However, at about 6pm, when the performances ended, a group of six teenage boys gathered in front of me and were bantering away. No library staff member came to ask them to observe the rule on silence in the library.

Double standards are practised in the library. Why is that so?

Tan Siew Tin

This article was first published in The Straits Times on 31 Oct, 2008.