I want to express my disappointment in the Ballyroan library and its unwelcoming ways towards children. The library's grand design surprisingly hasn't included a separate place for children. Not that there is a lack of a children area but a lack of a physically separate space where young children can be young children. Or does the mind behind the grand modern design actually expect toddlers to sit still for half an hour and "read" books? Often I and my children are told off by staff, even in a patronizing tone, when they run around or climb on sofas and if they are found talking loudly or wandering in the "adult" section - as if a toddler could really be aware of the invisible divide between the areas! These remarks make me feel extremely uneasy and unwelcome, I personally miss the old library, unfashionable but with clearly marked spaces for adults and children - one on the left of the ramp, one on the right. I never heard any remarks about my children's behaviour there. I never get told off in the lovely Whitechurch library either, where again spaces are more enclosed and separate and the staff is always very welcoming. So I wander what the problem is with the new Ballyroan library that makes me think I won't set foot in it again, after the umpteenth nasty staff remark and despite its great collection of books and dvd? Is it the inefficient design, some of the staff's attitude (not all of the staff but some) or both??
Unwelcome mum of two read more