Explicit and Implicit Information in Libraries

Well, the first example I can think of is the most obvious: most Americans implicitly think of a library as a building or room containing books.

With the digital age here to stay, that is not always true.  Nowadays a library could just as easily contain only e-books, or music, or whatever format the data comes in.  Even on iTunes, media is arranged in the "library", once you have purchased it.  So, I suppose that at some point in the near future the word "library" will not implicitly mean "a building with books".

Another example is the explicit signs that most public libraries have: "Reference Desk", "Nonfiction", "Fiction", etc.  Lots of explicit signs that state which type of material goes where.  

Then there is the reference desk.  I think we would all recognize it, even without a sign; it's usually in the center of the main lobby area, there's someone behind it, and they look busy.  Implicitly, we know that's the reference desk, and not a student study carroll.

Speaking of explicit and implicit information at libraries, my sister recently told me that at the large academic library she works at, the most asked question is "Where is the restroom?"  This seemed logical to me, and I asked if they had some sort of map they handed out so that they (the reference staff) didn't have to earn their $25 an hour salary explaining where the restroom was located.  She said no, that she had been trying to get them to put in a mall-like kiosk map - you know, the kind that has a big red X labeled "You are here", and then the little symbols for drinking fountain, restroom, etc. - but sadly, the committee was still stuck on how to appropriately label the restroom.  In other words, they have no signs pointing to where it is.  I was pretty surprised, because knowing where the restroom is is not an implicit piece of knowledge.

Signs, or explicit knowledge, can be funny things.  Symbols do not always transfer between cultures; nor does implicit knowledge. Take roundabouts - most Americans cannot handle them with grace.  I myself hate them.  Four-way stops are the American way; roundabouts are outside our box of implicit knowledge.  

My favorite sign is the one in India which is painted in large letters on all of the big trucks that carry diesel or gasoline.  It reads "Inflammable liquids".  To me, that meant "liquids that won't catch fire", since in the U.S., we would label such a truck "Flammable".  Because of the "in_" prefix, my brain automatically categorized the world inflammable as an antonym of flammable, which it is not.  They both mean the same thing.  So much for my knowledge of English. :)