Library not meeting expectations

As the pressure mounts up in Term Three, students have reservations about the ability of the university library to cope with the exam season.

When the Boar interviewed students on campus, many were concerned about issues regarding the library’s readiness.

Whether there was enough study space in the library, enough computers to work on and if the wireless would be working adequately were topics that were raised by students.

A first year drama student said, “The exam period is stressful enough without having to worry about having to walk around for an hour trying to find a computer whenever I want to study.”

One problem has been the internet access in the library when connecting with laptops. These problems began in Term Two with both the wireless internet and connections through the ethernet ports.

One student commented that her computer was unable to connect to the internet while she was on floor five and floor four.

This has been due to an insufficient capability of the internet servers in the library to deal with the amount of people who want to use the library’s wireless system.

The library introduced an online forum to answer questions and concerns about internet connections and other problems called ‘You Say, We Say’ to help them improve their services.

On this forum, one staff member replied in March to concerns about the internet. He pointed out that the extra wireless points being installed would allow four times as many people to access the internet on the top floors.

The ‘You Say, We Say’ forum is dominated by people complaining about the noise on the two lower floors. “When it was decided to redo the library,” one student asks, “whose idea was it to have two whole floors of people chattering and checking my-face and space-book all day?”

Indeed, one history student, upon being asked whether she thought the library was ready to cope with the pressures of Term Three, said, “The problem is, the areas with computers in them are also the places in which people are allowed to chat. This results in me having to listen about what the person opposite me did last night at Evolve if I don’t bring my laptop.”

The library has responded by putting more library stewards on patrol from eleven in the morning and by putting more messages up to remind people to keep noise to a minimum; however some students still maintain the library should be kept as a noise-free zone on all floors.

The library has also responded to students asking for the library to be open on a 24 hour basis. In Term Three, it will be open from eight to two o’clock in the morning.

This is an increase of three hours which will benefit students who need to squeeze in a portion of extra revision time before their exam. However, the ratio of computers to students still concerns students.

This issue has been addressed through the introduction of the SEATS service, launched by IT services.

By looking on their browser, or sending an email or a text message to the service, students can have a live picture of how many computers are available in the Library, Learning Grid and other alternative areas.

This will not solve the difficulties of students who need to work in the library because of its books yet need computer access as well.

It appears most students do not believe the library will come close to ready for Term Three unless more computers are installed.