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Dans la salle de lecture, le bruit est strictement interdit par le bibliothécaire.

Dans la salle de lecture, le bruit est strictement interdit par le bibliothécaire.
In the reading room, noise is strictly forbidden by the librarian.
From Lesson 254:Conditional alternatives (sinon)·French

Questions & Answers about Dans la salle de lecture, le bruit est strictement interdit par le bibliothécaire.

Why is it par le bibliothécaire instead of de?
In the passive voice, the person doing the action is usually introduced by par. We use de mostly for verbs of emotion or states of being (like aimé de or entouré de). Since forbidding is a specific action done by the librarian, it takes par.
Why is the adverb strictement placed right in the middle of the verb est interdit?
In French, adverbs generally follow the conjugated verb. In passive constructions or compound tenses, many adverbs (especially short ones and those ending in -ment) are placed between the helping verb (est) and the past participle (interdit).
Why do we use de in salle de lecture?
The preposition de is used to link two nouns when the second noun explains the first noun's purpose, contents, or nature. A salle de lecture is literally a 'room of reading', meaning a room meant specifically for reading.
Is the word bibliothécaire masculine or feminine?
It can be both! Because the noun naturally ends in an -e, the spelling doesn't change based on gender. You have to look at the article to know who is being talked about. Here, le tells us the librarian is male. For a female librarian, it would be la bibliothécaire.

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