The Seattle Public Library Board of Directors voted May 27 to alter the rules of conduct for the Central Library and its neighborhood branches, seeking, in the words of operations director Marilynne Gardner, to accommodate a burgeoning number of patrons in libraries that are "bursting at the seams."
The new rules ensure that oversize bags or parcels don't fill up the aisles, while making an exception for laptops, briefcases or purses.
Users bringing in backpacks, luggage or other materials that are larger than a typical airplane carry-on bag, says Gardner, are asked to "come back later so that they can safely use the library." If they refuse to leave they are banned for three days. The new rules stipulate that items may not take up floor space of more than 14 by 17 inches or be more than 20 inches tall.
The new rules also closes what might be called the "just resting my eyes" loophole, clarifying that it's against the rules to appear to be sleeping.
Between March 2007 and April 30 2009, the library counted 354 incidents of patrons sleeping in both the central and branch libraries. It was the third most common infraction, after trespass and damage to library property. In all, staff counted just 11 incidents of users bringing in oversize items.
Overall, the library issued 1,997 exclusions, ranging in time from three days to a year during the same time period.
Asked if the oversize rule disproportionately impacts homeless users, Gardner said that's not the intent. "I never know what a person's background is," she says. "We don't categorize the people who are carrying a quantity of material in."
Another new rule: library property, including outdoor plaza spaces, may not be used for petitioning, gathering signatures, or distributing literature. Gardner says that only Library-sponsored events will take place on the grounds.