Butler OKs Food For Employees

Employees at Butler Library were instructed to sidestep a ban on outside food by concealing meals and groceries in opaque bags, according to an e-mail sent to the library's staff.

The memo, dated Sept. 18 and sent by Deputy University Librarian Patricia Renfro, says that security guards charged with imposing the policy cannot be expected to "distinguish between types of food, or amounts of food, or to treat people entering the library differently."

"We are therefore asking you to carry food items inside a closed non see-through bag so that it is not visible to the guards or to users coming into the library," the e-mail reads.

The e-mail comes as Butler's food policy, long-standing but frequently ignored by students, has come under stricter enforcement this fall. The library bans all outside food and limits drinks to spill-proof containers, though items purchased in the Butler Library Blue Java can be consumed in the first-floor lounge.

Renfro said that the distinction made between the library's staff and its users was a fair one.

"The difference is that library staff work in this building and have staff lounges where they can eat their lunch because they don't necessarily want to buy lunch every day," she said.

Renfro explained that the decision to intensify enforcement was made after Butler received numerous complaints about the condition of its reading rooms. As a result, the library increased the number of Public Safety officers patrolling the building for food and asked that the guard posted at the entrance turn away people attempting to carry refreshments into the library.

According to the e-mail, the recommendation that staff members conceal outside food was made in consultation with Public Safety, but Renfro said that the security guards themselves were not notified of the exemption. "I don't think we've specifically talked to them about that," she said.

Two Public Safety officers approached at Butler Tuesday night confirmed that they had not been previously informed of the tactic.

Despite increased enforcement-including a copy of the policy posted at Butler's front desk-coffee cups, junk-food wrappers, and the occasional fountain soda could be seen populating the library's desks and tables Tuesday night.

"It would be one thing if they were just banning all food, but the cafe is still open, and that's basically like saying, 'You have to buy our stuff,'" said one bibliographer, who asked that her name be withheld to avoid a rebuke from her superiors. "I don't think you should be able to bring like a five-course meal in, but I don't see a problem with bringing in snacks."

Renfro said that the prospect of increased business for Blue Java did "not at all" play a role in the decision, adding that the cafe "was never intended to be a dining hall or a place to bring food."