Confused... is this normal?
Okay… I arrived in New Zealand about two months ago. I go to the library quite often, and the study area is usually very quiet. The first floor is more of a kids’ space, so it can be a bit noisy, but the second floor is a study area and generally very quiet.
But sometimes, there are people who talk on the phone really loudly without any concern for others. And not just quick calls, but 10 to 20 minutes, speaking as if they were in their own room.
I’ve also noticed that staff passing through the study area sometimes talk quite loudly which is totally understandable because they are here to help people using the facility. What I don’t understand is this: when there are more than 10-20 people around you clearly focusing and working quietly on their laptops, wouldn’t you feel a bit self-conscious being that loud? On top of that, people often glance over, which obviously suggests the noise is disturbing. Yesterday, someone even had a freaking VIDEO MEETING in this quiet area for about an hour. Of course, the dude was speaking very loudly. Zero awareness of how others might be disturbed.
So okay, now I'm thinking.. “Oh, I see. The library is a public place and isn’t strictly a silent place. It’s generally quiet, but not necessarily enforced.”
But then the other day, some younger kids (around 13 to 14?) were running around making some noise, and a staff member came over and told them to stop and leave. One adult even got upset, warned them directly, and made them go outside.
Hmm… now I’m really confused.
For context, the people talking on the phone, the person in the video meeting, the kids, and even the staff and adults who told them off all seemed like native Kiwis, not foreigners with different cultural norms.
So at this point, I’m genuinely confused. What’s the general rule? What’s the commonly accepted behavior in a library here?