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Draft 2

Eating in a university library is impolite and rude to the visitors of the library as well as to culture, because it degrades studying and reading to the state of a pastime activity done during eating and also degrades library to the state of a snack bar or a café. It is impolite to the visitors who want to devote their full attention to reading and do not want to be disturbed by other students' gobbling. It is also inconsiderate because visitors of a university library can possibly be as hungry as the one who is having food there but can stand eating because they have respect for the unwritten (and sometimes written) habits and rules of libraries. Considering this, eating in a library can only be accepted and tolerated in one case, when a student cannot postpone reading in the library at any cost, but would not survive without having some victual at the same time. But even in that case, the action has to be carefully planned and carried out. This paper will give some useful and practical advice how to avoid being impolite when eating at a university library.

Preparation for having food in a library is an important step. The golden rule is that a student should only eat the amount of food in a library that prevents him from starving, until he has time to have a meal in an adequate place. Ignoring the basic politeness rule in a library and behaving in the place as if it was a snack bar: having three courses from soup in plastic glass to begin with to a coffee at the end with a hamburger with mustard and ketchup in between, that is getting to the library packed up with food and then eating ravenously all the time there can extremely disgust people in any library. Moreover, selecting of food is significant. Fatty, creamy and crumbly food like pizza and chocolate cake should be avoided, because they can make the furniture and floor of the library as well as books filthy easily. Furthermore, especially crunchy snacks have to be refrained from because of the noise one can make eating them. Good choices can be some chocolate, a banana, an apple, a home-made sandwich, biscuits or a croissant, because the are easy to handle, do not make filth and can be eaten relatively quietly. When going to the library with some food to eat there, one should make sure that he has a paper napkin and a plastic or paper beg to put refuse in it on him.

Entering the library the food should be hidden properly among papers or in a pocket - especially when a written sign forbids eating there. It is not a wise idea to go to a library with nothing else but a sandwich in one’s hands. Following this, the place to sit has to be carefully chosen. The ideal location for a student who wants to read and eat at the same time is the remotest chair and table, preferably one that is located so that the student can sit with his back to the others in the room. If there is no free place like that, one should sit with nobody on his sides and in front of him at least. This is weighty because seeing and hearing the chewing of an other student when one is trying to concentrate on what he is reading or studying, and maybe on forgetting his hunger as well because he did not want to bring food to the library, can be utmostly annoying.
There can be huge differences in the way of eating the food, that matters as well. Biting small morsels, instead of having tremendous bites that can hardly be chewed and swallowed, can prevent noisy grinding. That is also true that the smaller movement of the mouth because of the smaller bite, the harder it can be seen that one is eating. During consuming, special attention should be paid to taking care of books or any paper and of furniture. One should clean his hands with the paper napkin he brought every time before touching a book he is reading or studying from, and should be careful not to put books to any filth he may have made on the table.
After finishing eating, the refuse - banana skin, chocolate or biscuit paper and napkins - has to be put to the bag the student has cautiously brought with him. If the food that has been eaten has left crumbles, those certainly has to be cleaned up. Leaving the library being prepared for the following lesson and with suppressed hunger, one should not forget taking the refuse-beg with him. But the satisfaction that he feels over managing the difficult task of carrying out devouring and being in a library parallely, and still be reasonably polite, should not be stronger than the abstention from doing that again.

Consequently the action of eating itself is not the only important matter to consider in connection with the practise of eating in a university library if one wants to be relatively polite in a basically impolite situation. For the reason that a sensible university student, who feels respect for the abstract idea of culture and for people who are doing scientific work around him, may have scruples about eating in a library; besides preparation, proper and careful selecting of food, choosing place and cleaning after eating, a sufficient reason for eating there is needed beforehand - although probably not asked by anyone - if not for anything else then for the sake of conscience.