About food, table manners, and libraries

Seeing that a considerable amount of space was dedicated to the discussion of food matters in the last Quid Novi http://quid.mcgill.ca/, I would like to add my little share to this conversation.

NO food is allowed in the Law Library. By saying NO food in the Law Library, I do indeed mean NO food. You can bring water and other beverages in sealed containers, but we do not allow any kind of food in the Library because food smells, and leftovers can attract insects or rodents, and we would not like to have mice and cockroaches here. So, please, please, when you bake your lovely carrés or muffins using the recipe from the last Food for Thought section, find another place to eat them. On n’est pas permis de  ‘grignoter’ quoi que ce soit à la bibliothèque 🙂

I enjoyed reading “The Law students guide to business lunch etiquette” by Mary Angela Rowe. Personally, I am convinced that it is about the time to remind to everybody about the table manners that have been almost destroyed by the invasion of fast-food, plastic-plate, hastily-eaten meals. To somebody who is interested in the topic I can suggest searching our Classic Catalogue – Advanced Search – Keywords in subject – table etiquette. The McGill Library has an interesting selection of books on this topic ranging from “The rituals of dinner: the origins, evolution, eccentricities, and meaning of table manners” to “Galateo; or, A treatise on politeness and delicacy of manners… With the whole art of carving; illustrated with a variety of cuts”.

Leave a Comment