Eliana Steinberg

Life Editor

Chances are you’ve probably been kicked out of the Milken library. Clasping your hands together you pleaded for one last chance, vowing to remain silent. But out you went!

Inhabitants of the Milken library range from the strictly studious to the merciless pranksters. Regardless of your academic intentions, the library serves as the go-to spot for afternoon free-periods and group project meetings.

For the few dedicated workhorses, the library is a safe-haven, a quiet place to catch up on missed work or to plan ahead for the following week.

But despite the constant shush-ing of our dedicated librarians, the library environment appears to rarely achieve the ideal, total quiet state.

“When students are all together they need to talk. I feel that when there are too many people in a common area its almost impossible for it to be silent,” Dr. Shamsi Katebi, director of library services, said.

To control the library’s noise level, the librarian staff has declared the middle room, located between the library and the computer lab, available for students to study quietly and independently. Students can enter the middle room only with permission from a member of the Library staff. Students are expected to work independently, in relative silence, and adhere to all regular rules of the library, such as not eating and drinking.

For many, the library serves as nothing more than a transitionary passage for stampeding to and from the printer between classes.

“If I have an important test coming up I’ll go to the library and study there, but for the most part I stay clear of it at all costs,” Sarah Ben-Zvi ’12 said.

For this reason the librarian staff has been working to promote the importance of the Milken library and its resources.

“We are trying to get more teachers and students involved and aware of what the library offers,” Katebi said.

There’s more to the library than speedy Internet connection and the communal feeling of procrastination. Behind the mess of computers are numerous shelves of books that have seldom met the nose of a Milken student. The library also offers access to multiple online database subscriptions for research.

On the first floor of Milken’s campus, across from the amphitheatre, is a large room full of students watching Hulu on their laptops. Dr. Katebi, Mr. Kates, and Mr. Tyler are waiting at the front desk to give you earphones, so why don’t you go ahead and stop by for a visit.