Appleton. England. Not the same. This was proven by a little item in Monday’s New York Times. The main reading room of the British Library, formerly a stodgy bastion of serious researchers, relaxed its admission policy in 1998 when it moved into a new building. Now the tweedy, suede-patched-elbows set must rub shoulders with “anyone who has a relevant research need,” which includes college undergraduates. Here, we LOVE college undergraduates.
One regular user complained of the raucous behavior he witnessed:
“The worst is that they actually answer their phones…The phone vibrates and they go, ‘Hold on a minute, Nigel,’ and then they run out of the reading room and take the call.”
For the record:
1. Setting you phone to vibrate is a lovely and wondrous thing
2. Answering it and saying only “hold on” will endear you to us forever
3. And finally, walking outside to carry on a conversation makes our hearts go pitter-patter with delight
The Mudd: We’re Not the British Library