Release date: May 14, 2026. 12:03 minutes runtime.
In which a whimsical medley of library sounds are compiled, featuring listener submissions and results of a search by Stephanie and Hannah in one of their libraries for just about anything that made a noise. See the transcript for timestamps with identification of each sound.
Michigan State University, Main Library, first floor
North Seattle College, Student Media Center, various floors and rooms
University of Minnesota Twin Cities
Collections Facility
Digital archives workstation
Health Sciences Library makerspace
Walter Library, various floors and rooms
00:00
[Medley of sounds: book dropping into book drop, rolling book cart, barcode scanner beep with underlying HVAC, server fan, and Macintosh Performa 631CD booting up. A phone rings, clicks as it is picked up, and a voice says, "Hello. Thank you for calling the North Seattle College Library. How can I help you?"]
[intro music begins (instrumental, laid back rhythmic strings, drums, and piano)]
00:25
STEPHANIE: Hello, and welcome to a special episode of Library Table Talk. I’m Stephanie Sparrow, one of your hosts.
HANNAH: And I’m Hannah Cabullo, your other host. In Library Table Talk, we explore what academic librarianship looks like in the day-to-day, across different types of institutions and roles.
STEPHANIE: Nothing is off the table.
HANNAH: And in this episode we really mean that. It’s the end of the year, and what a year it’s been. We decided to be a little silly and explore what academic librarianship sounds like in the day-to-day. That is, the background noise that peppers our libraries.
STEPHANIE: Thank you to all the folks who contributed sounds, and to our listeners everywhere. We’re happy to have you here.
[music fades out]
01:09 [classroom door opening and closing]
01:13 [two people walking]
01:19 [elevator arriving, doors opening and closing]
01:32 [book cart rolling]
01:45 [newspaper pages rustling]
01:54 [photocopier trays being opened and closed]
02:31 [a Macintosh Performa 631CD starting up]
03:16 [hole punch]
03:18 [HVAC running heat]
03:26 [keyboard typing]
03:40 [3D printers running in a makerspace]
04:00 [door opening and closing]
04:04 [stock picker in a collections facility beeping, clunking, and whirring]
05:54 [phone rings and clicks as it is picked up]
VOICE 1: Hello. Thank you for calling the North Seattle College Library. How can I help you?
VOICE 2: Hi, I was just wondering when the library closes today?
VOICE 1: Oh, yeah. So we’re open today until 7 p.m.
VOICE 2: Alright, thank you so much. That’s all I was calling about. Byebye.
VOICE: Okay, thanks for calling. Byebye.
[phone clicking as it is hung up]
06:19 [step stool screeching as it is wheeled and stepped on]
06:37 [keys jingling and unlocking a lock, a gate opening and closing]
06:44 [manual stapler]
06:53 [book sliding along a desensitizer, desensitizer pinging]
07:03 [tissue being pulled out of a box]
07:07 [HVAC and server “symphony”]
07:23 [paper cutter slicing]
07:30 [library pencils clattering in a box]
07:36 [electric pencil sharpener screeching]
07:40 [drinking fountain with slurping and refreshed “Ahhh.”]
07:48 [sink running, bubbles gurgling in drain, hands washing, some chuckles and the words “30 seconds later”, hands clapping, paper towels being torn off and used to dry hands]
08:22 [electric stapler and surprised “Whoa!”, some chuckles and more stapling]
08:33 [disk case being pulled off a shelf, opened and closed, reshelved]
08:52 [button making process: paper being punched out and assembled in button maker with mylar and button back and front]
09:31 [browsing in the stacks: two books being pulled off the shelf and flipped through in succession]
10:00 [whiteboard marker being uncapped and drawn with, re-capped, erased, another marker being uncapped and written with]
10:18 [heat pump gurgling and whistling]
10:43 [musical transition]
HANNAH: And with this little nugget of an episode, this is a wrap on Season 2! In the show notes on our website, you can see a list of the sounds and libraries included.
STEPHANIE: We’ll be using the summer to develop episodes for Season 3! Also watch for a listener survey. We want to know what you thought about things like including guest-hosted episodes, this weird little episode, and probably some other questions too.
HANNAH: We hope your summer is a time for rest and rejuvenation, and for whatever you need it to be.
[outro music begins (instrumental, upbeat xylophone, clapping, and bass)]
STEPHANIE: And that brings us to a close here, folks. Thank you for listening. We hope you'll consider subscribing. You can also find us on our website at z.umn.edu/librarytabletalk.
HANNAH: Library Table Talk is produced by me, Hannah Cabullo,
STEPHANIE: And me, Stephanie Sparrow.
HANNAH: This episode was edited by Hannah. Thanks to our employer, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, and University Libraries for making this work possible.
STEPHANIE: Music is by Blue Dot Sessions, Town Market and Dirt Bike Lovers.
HANNAH: Cheers,
STEPHANIE: Stephanie
HANNAH: And Hannah.
[short musical interlude]
STEPHANIE: Oooh.
HANNAH: Okay, go for it.
[barcode scanner beep]
STEPHANIE: [intake of breath] Oooh!
HANNAH: Can I do it again without your…
STEPHANIE: Oh, yeah, so sorry. I get so excited.
[laughing]