By John Michael Guerrero

The Salvatore G. Rotella Digital Library and Learning Resource Center is one of many key places at Riverside City College that students can visit for various resources, a place to study or a place to mingle.

Recently, the library has gained attention for how noisy it can get at the food lounge. Students have said librarians are threatening to ban noisy patrons.

“I have heard it gets pretty loud and that (students) haven’t been able to focus on the ‘quiet floor’ which is located on the second floor of the Digital Library,” Chloe Spartos, a student at RCC, said.

Linda Joannesing, library technical assistant II, said the college assumes students will read the Student Handbook to learn about the Code of Conduct. She said the noise is a product of how crowded the building is.

“If there are a lot of people, it can get noisier, but with fewer people, it is usually not an issue,” Joannesing said.

Librarians have continued to warn students that they may be asked to leave if the noise level in the library becomes too loud. 

This has been a frequent issue this semester compared to the previous semesters following COVID-19, according to Jacqueline Lesch, department co-chair and librarian faculty.

She said that many of the current rules and regulations students are expected to follow within the library are in the Student Handbook.

Lesch uses section V of the rights and responsibilities portion to determine if students are being disruptive. Both points 11 and 16 of this section help librarians to take appropriate actions. They say they approach a group, and are sensitive to folks’ privacy.

“As employees, we will approach any student, without singling out any individual,” she said. “Loss of privileges defines for a designated period of time a student’s attendance on District property to specified activities including library privileges.”

They do hold the power to enforce a short or long-term suspension from the library if they deem it necessary. Banning a student from the library is an escalation that only the Dean of Student Services or vice president can make and will undergo more complex procedures outside of the librarians’ control.