It is a general rule seen on notices that 'Silence should be strictly observed in the library.' Unfortunately, during public holidays, only a few people at Tai Po Public Library appear to follow this rule. I am a regular user of the facilities at Tai Po. However, every time I visit during the holidays, I am appalled by the level of noise which is tolerated by staff. I see children chasing around, playing hide-and-seek and screaming in the adult section, while their parents stand around and chat to each other. It seems to have been turned into a children's playground and a meeting place for the parents. Perhaps there is a personnel shortage, so members of staff are too busy to do something about this problem, or perhaps they just turn a deaf ear to it. Either way, it is very difficult for readers to concentrate. However, there is no way to really escape from the noise, because there are only a few seats for readers. Some of us take our books to the newspaper reading room, but it is only supposed to be for reading newspapers and magazines. This is a long-standing problem and I think something should be done about it before the school summer holidays are upon us. CHAN CHI-YEUNG Tai Po
