These are the dominant sounds I heard: flip flops, people readjusting themselves in seats to comfortable sitting positions, whispering, zippers.
People in the library are walking just as much with their shoes as they are with their pants. Meaning, their pants go, "swish swash", every time they step. I could even hear the sound of some shoes compressing, like air being released from a cushion. The walking was also interesting to listen for sound proximity, walking/footsteps getting louder as the walker gets closer. The library has carpeted flooring, so most of the footsteps were muted, and padded sounding. People move in sync with each other, they feel as if another person decides to move and make themselves more comfortable, it's their chance to snatch something from their backpack. So these sounds usually came in waves: papers turning and shuffling, coughing, sniffing, zipping, chairs creaking, swishing of back pack fabric, thuds of books on desks.
There was the constant hum of the air conditioner, a faint bell somewhere (probably the elevator), people talking openly downstairs, people whispering upstairs. Sometimes I could catch the sound of a person writing, the scratch scratch of pen (maybe pencil) on paper. Some people even breath audibly.
I never realized that libraries are crawling... infested... with very soft, but acutely loud noises made by humans.
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