I am very happy that Ex Libris is finally open and there is a place I can get fresh coffee in the library. However, I have noticed that the cafe carries a wide variety of small snacks (package of nuts, chocolate bars, etc.) and am concerned that it encourages eating in the reading rooms. Every time I am in the library, there is not a single day when I don't see someone eating at the desks. Now that the cafe has moved from the basement to the main building, it is far easier for users to grab a snack and bring it into the reading area. Small snacks are designed to be carried around and enjoyed wherever you please. If you get a small package of chips, it just doesn't make sense to sit down and take time just for eating it. If the library administration wants to maintain the rule that eating is not allowed in the reading areas, they should request the owner of the cafe to stop selling small snacks. As regards eating in the library, I should also note that the rule is not presented in a clear and compelling manner. There are only a few posters on each floor and the notices on the desks are tiny. To any concerned patron of the library, the current policies put in place display nothing but the administration's inaction and unwillingness to enforce their own rules.
We agree that small snacks are easily concealed and carried about to other parts of the library. However, we are hopeful that patrons will "self-police" and choose to consume their snacks in the cafe area.
(The Suggestions Office wonders if the old setup was more conducive, perhaps, to disobeying the food policy. It might have been slightly harder to get your M&M's, for example, but generally people didn't want to linger there.)
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