Cambridge University has banned the use of mobile phones in its main library

Cambridge University has banned the use of mobile phones in its main library after complaints about students carrying on conversations while people were trying to study. Deputy librarian Roy Welbourn said signs had now been put up asking users to switch off phones when they came into the building.

"We have had increasing numbers of complaints from readers about conversations in reading rooms and study areas where reasonable quiet is expected," he said. "More and more telephones were ringing and people were actually carrying on conversations.

"The corridors of the library were being used more and more like an extended telephone kiosk. This is not a Luddite response - merely a reaction to complaints about people wanting to study in a reasonably quiet atmosphere." PA