New library etiquette guidelines will be making their way to California State University Stanislaus, (Stan State), after crumbs and spills left behind by students cause the campus’ library to take action, and they are now asking for students’ help to correct the situation.
The Vasche Library Building, home to many students during finals week and other parts of the Spring and Fall semesters, will be implementing new library guidelines in the coming Fall semester, according to Dean of Library Services Ronald Rodriguez.
“We need your help in order to keep the library clean and workable because the fact of the matter is that we only have one and a half custodians assigned to the library,” Rodriguez said.
The guide will outline actions such as where it is and is not acceptable to eat and drink in the library, recycling bottles in the library’s recycling bins and asking students to dispose of their leftover cafeteria meals outside of the library.
According to Rodriguez, food that sits in the garbage within the library’s vicinity can leave an unpleasant odor, especially if it is left to sit in the trash over the course of the weekend.
“We’re just asking students to please help us out, and we think it will be a much better and cleaner library. And, we’re just personally interested in partnering with students because the semester is getting closer to the end,” Rodriguez added.
Through collaboration with Stan State’s Associated Students, Inc. (ASI), Rodriguez has already drafted four different versions of the guidelines meant to provide a cleaner and more beautiful library to students.
According to ASI, noise has also been an issue, which Rodriguez hopes to address with the implementation of a completely silent third floor within the library.
“In late April early May” Rodriguez also hopes to send out a questionnaire that will ask students what their views on food and drink, noise levels and hours of library use are.
Stan State Librarian Tim Held, who understands students’ need to study and eat simultaneously and has also noticed the trash accumulating throughout the library, suggested increasing signage, so students know what the standard is and how they can help maintain that standard.
For Jose Talamantes, Custodial Supervisor, the library has posed a problem for quite some time.
“There are certain restrictions that we have as far as access throughout the building during certain times of the day, so we can’t just go and clean stuff off, you know, students are using it,” Talamantes said.
Library custodial staffers Chio Saecho and Justin Black only have from 5-8 a.m. to throw away trash, wipe desk and countertops down, vacuum and address study rooms left in disarray before students arrive to begin studying, according to Talamantes.
However, Talamantes said above all other tasks, restrooms must be cared for first every day in order to reduce the risk of spreading diseases.
“Because of how busy it is in the library, we usually have to service those restrooms more than once in a day,” Talamantes said. “I know students are busy, but sometimes the shape the restrooms are left in is just complete disregard for the work that [custodians] do.”
Such disregard includes towels thrown on the floor, seat cover dispensers shoved into toilets and theft of toilet paper and towels, which all take custodians’ time and alter the course of other tasks custodians have left to do.
 “The problem that we sometimes have is that we’ll have custodians out on vacation, we’ll have custodians out due to illness and there will be anywhere from three to five a day,” Talamantes said. “That sometimes will cause us to even cut more of our service at the library, but as of now we’re in the process of hiring two more custodians.”
Both Rodriguez and Talamantes ask students to kindly notify library staff if a spill occurs, so a stain will not permanently ruin the library’s floors.
A new librarian will also be hired and be involved in user engagement and outreach in order to send out the library’s new guidelines on the library’s website, according to Rodriguez.
Rodriguez also hopes to top the guidelines off with the simple phrase, “Keep your library beautiful,” as a way to encourage and partner with students to take pride in Stan State’s library.
“We’re here to serve the students, and that’s why we don’t complain, we’re not going to go and make a big deal out of it,” Talamantes said. “Anything the students can do to help us out is much appreciated. And again on the flipside, if the students take the initiative to do that, it shows that they have an appreciation for the work that the custodians do.”