IF YOU GO INTO Manly Library, watch out for the mobile phone nazis, otherwise known as librarian counter staff. If an incident I observed in the library is any indication of what is typical, they are out to get users of mobiles.

The incident was a largely courteous encounter between two men who dared to use their mobiles, quietly, in the downstairs floor of the building and a young male staffer. One of the men answered a call and had what was a very brief and quiet conversation. On seeing the men using these illicit devices, the male librarian said something to the female version of the same who gave a rather supercilious look at the guilty callers, whereupon the male wandered over to inform the guilty duo that they were not allowed to use mobiles in the library.

To ask why not is a reasonable proposition. Could it be the noise of conversations? If so, Manly Library retains that old and very dated attitude that libraries are places of quiet. This simply reinforces the stereotype of the seriously stern librarian with an authoritative and authoritarian manner — you get the picture — hair tied back in a bob and peering over glasses with heavy, black plastic frames… the result of squinting at fine print for too many years. Not quite the modern idea of the library, really.

If it is the noise that the staff see as a problem, then what of the young children running about the aisles, and what of the librarian at the upstairs counter who spoke with a voice so loud that it could be heard all over the floor? And what of the man on his mobile up there, having a conversation that could be overheard in the next aisle? No intervention on mobile bans there, apparently. Selective.

Inconsistencies?

The ban on these everyday devices raises a curious issue. At a nearby seat, there were a couple guys tapping away on their laptops. Were they taking notes (didn’t look like it), emailing, instant messaging or accessing online information? Now, mobile phones today are not just telephones, they are interconnected, digital communications devices. With the Library’s mobile phone ban, what if someone wants to use their mobile to text or to access information online? What if they want to enter a note about what they are reading into their mobile? These would be no-goers as mobiles, according to the library, are to be switched off before entering. Not just turned on to vibrate, but turned off, completely. This brings into question the idea, that library types like to propagate, that they are savvy about modern communications. Essentially, you could use a smartphone to do what those guys might have been dong on their laptop.

Manly Library appears to be confused on the question of accessing information and on the capability of mobile internet technologies. Yet, librarians are going to find their social role challenged more and more by online services. Like other professions, the role of librarians will probably be to some extent assumed by online services and automated systems.

The vibe of the library is quite different to Bowen Library in Maroubra, a place that has more life about it and is not as deadly quiet as the Manly establishment. In fact, it’s ok to bring your coffee into the library — there’s even a coffee bar in the foyer. And I’ve seen no signs banning mobile phones there.

Here’s the reality: Mobile phones are part of people’s everyday, and people expect to be able to use them except in places such as movie cinemas. Whatismore, families use them to keep in touch, to arrange when to collect children, to arrange when and where to meet spouses. If Manly Library really is a family friendly institution, then banning mobiles is not family friendly policy.

Sure, loud ringtones and loud conversationalists are a bit of a bane, but they are now the background sound to contemporary urban living, like traffic noise and blaring televisions. We accept them, annoying that they sometimes are. Surely, the library is not populated by technophobes?

Yes, Manly, it’s time for your library to meet the 21st century and rethink your attitude to mobile telephony.