Disruptive Patrons

I’ve had several incidents this week with disruptive patrons and was wondering if my fellow librarians had any tips. During finals week a certain “seriousness of purpose” takes over normally sociable students, stressed out by the prospect of taking final exams. I feel bad for these students when other, disruptive patrons (not always students, sometimes their children, etc.) create disturbances in the library.

Many libraries have a “Patron Code of Conduct” which outlines acceptable behavior in the library and how to remedy situations. We are not a public library, and I’m not saying we should take the time to compose a Patron Code of Conduct, but it is an idea. I really liked the Mooresville Public Library Patron Code of Conduct (http://www.mooresvillelib.org/index.php/Patron-Code-of-Conduct.html). Personally, I have dealt with every item on the “Various Behavior Problems” list except for smoking and loitering.

In the past week, I had a student carry a boom-box into the library playing loud music and they were appalled when I told them to turn it off. I have dealt with students using obscene language very loudly and sounding threatening. Others have played Youtube™ clips at full volume on their laptops and turned loose their kids to wreak havoc on the library. I know many of you encounter the same issues, so please share your ideas/experiences.