Problem: The second floor of the Owen library is too noisy according to student surveys. In particular, the library doors (and area around the doors) are very loud and create distractions for students studying in the library.
Concept #1: Move the denali printer from outside the library doors to the area directly behind the elevator on the second floor (the fish bowl). Much of the noise heard by students in the library is created by other students huddled outside the library around the denali printer. This will also encourage students to use the printers inside the library, reducing the need for students to frequently enter/exit the library doors.
Concept #2: Place cloth/carpet door stops on the second floor library doors to reduce noise created by students entering/exiting the library.
Concept #3: Information Campaign - Inform students of library policies via e-mail, post library rules outside and within the library, post noise reminders on library tables (as stickers), incorporate library noise within the Owen Honor Code.
Concept #4: Assign an Owen Librarian to sit at a table upstairs. This will hopefully discourage student's from talking.
Feedback is greatly appreciated.
I like #2 the most. Any idea that minimizes the necessary changes in student behavior is bound to be more effective in my opinion. Trying to influence student habits may be more difficult.
ReplyDelete1) I like this idea. One potential problem is that Denali seems to break down a lot. So, people who typically print to Denali have to send their documents to Matterhorn. So, this solution may not stop all of the entering/exiting the library.
ReplyDelete2)I like this idea. Does the budget exist to purchase these door stops?
3) Owen students seem to not react well when informed about new rules. I think this may have some unanticipated adverse effects, and students may increase their talking around the printers.
4) This seems like it may not be the best use of the librarian's time, and I doubt that students would change their behavior as a result.
1)You make an excellent point in the concept, but would the technical readjustments be too much of a burden? I do think it would encourage people in the library to actually use the library printers.
ReplyDelete2)Seems easily implemented. In my option, though, the noise from the doors also comes from when the door is opened. I realize that the closing of the doors will be more quiet, but the opening would still generate the amount of noise.
3) The responsibility now lies with the masses. And while Owen students are usually respectable individuals, it is a risk. Take a look at how many people don't abide by the "dress code." I don't think the honor code belongs in this area, but the reminder stickers could be effective.
4) I like the idea as long as the library has the personnel to staff it. I think a lot of the noise on the 2nd floor is generated from people entering/exiting the group meeting rooms, and the librarian could monitor those situations pretty well.
1. Could work, although I haven't been distracted by people outside the door that often. A benefit of this would be to keep people from going in and out of the library over and over as they print different versions of their documents(I've been guilty of this, and those doors are loud)
ReplyDelete2. This is a great idea, although not sure if there are security rules you'll have to work around (to keep people from stealing books etc)
3. I like this as well. We need to create an environment where it is OK to tell people to keep quiet in the library. Currently the culture seems to view those who ask for quiet as bigger jerks than those who openly talk loudly in the library. This is probably the biggest issue beyond the printers and the doors
4. This would work if they had a mandate to keep it quiet.
I'm not sure that moving the printer would necessarily help solve the problem. Since Denali is fairly hit or miss in terms of functioning, I know I and other students send documents to Matterhorn, then go in and out of the library to pick them up. (Side not, there also always seem to be a working stapler at Matterhorn). I'm not sure this was part of the design, but having the oft-broken printer right in front of the IT doorway seems like a good idea (having a printer that always breaks down, however, is less than ideal).
ReplyDeleteI think buffering the noise from the door openings and closings is the best, easiest to implement idea. Perhaps coupling these quieter doors with a sign reminding people to be silent would make a big difference.
Also, much of the noise comes from group rooms coming and going, so signs on those doors could be beneficial as well.
I like the concept 1 and 2. The denali printer and the students entering/existing the library would be the main source of all noises in the second floor. For the idea 1, I would suggest that find another place in the center of 2rd floor to provide easier access for people there (ex. replace one study table to the printer).
ReplyDeleteThe first two ideas are great.
ReplyDelete#1: Moving the printer to fish bone would be a feasible issue. According to me one of the reasons people get into library after printing from Denali is that most of the times there are no staplers there. Our team is working on this issue!!
#2: Would be nice but I would mix concept 1 & 2 together.
#3: Students might not take these instructions seriously.
#4: Currently there is alack of space in our library, assigning a seating upstairs would add to the problem.
Generally I think it is good you have done a survey in order to identify the problem and the need for solving it. This might help you implement the idea and the “change”. It seems there are several factors creating the excessive noise. Maybe you should concentrate on removing the main one, or all of them? It is not quite clear to me how you assess the problem. Moving the printer away might create resistance among students, appealing to a 3rd authority to take care of the issue requires a lot of “okays” from different parties: school administration, money for paying a third person etc.
ReplyDeleteI think that most students know and understand the proper library etiquitte but it is somewhat hard to keep quiet at all times. Having that said, I think that the best idea would be to move the printer or two encourage more congregating away from the library. I do not think that the students need to be informed that they need to be quiet.
ReplyDeleteI like ideas 1-3. Each would be easy to implement and would be effective. I dont know how realistic idea 4 is or how much impact idea 4 will have.
ReplyDeleteIdea #1 would be good because the printer becomes a place where you run into other people and talk, so moving this to another location would reduce that.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I understand what idea #2 is specifically, but reducing the door noise from people going in and out would also certainly reduce the problem.
For idea #3, I think that we don't pay attention to signs much and idea #4 seems labor intensive.
It might be an idea to find out what's the most bothersome noise and then use a solution that fixes that problem.
Concept #1 makes sense but the logistical concerns might be problematic. I.e. The amount of space that would be required for paper storage etc. might really clutter the fishbowl. In addition, the ease of network capability.
ReplyDeleteConcept 3 is simple but I don't think that the average student would pay much attention to the rules. The problem may be solved for a few weeks while fresh but students will likely fall back into old habits. It might be a little too much to include in the honor code.
Concept 2 is interesting. I would want to try the idea first as the implementation might be cheap to test.
Interesting problem! I see huge barriers to #4. Who's to do the "assigning"? Who's to get "assigned"? Would leaving the doors open help? Maybe people make noise there because they perceive that the door stops the noise from entering the library. If there were open doors, people might modulate their voices lower since they'd realize that they were disturbing the library patrons. I like the information campaign - seems pretty cheap and easy. I assume that you considered "earplugs" - since maybe this problem is in the ears of the beholder!
ReplyDeleteIf the printer is the main source of noise - see if you can get ITS to temporarily move it. They might be willing to help with this experiment. If you measure sound levels before and after, you'd get a sense of making a permanent move would be worthwhile. (A potential problem with the fishbowl is that the 204 classroom back door is often open and sound carries in there. However since EMBA is moving to a Saturday-Only format, maybe the fishbowl will be more available for this kind of use.
I also really like solution 1 as there is a lot of traffic at Denali. My one issue is that adding a printer station in the fishbowl could make it overly crowded as well as eliminate room for study tables (which are sometimes hard to come by).
ReplyDeleteI think the first three concepts have potential, but it sounds like you would have to do some experimenting to determine whether or not they are effective in practice. I would not encourage you to pursue the fourth solution. University librarians often have some pretty impressive credentials (master's degrees, lots of experience, etc.). "Assigning" one a place to sit for the sole purpose of policing how loud MBA students are talking in the library seems like it has the potential to create some pretty hefty unintended consequences. The problem of too much noise in the library is generated by the students, so I encourage you to pursue solutions in which the students, not Owen staff members, are responsible for solving the problem.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the comments above. I think your best suggestions are to add door stops to quiet the library doors or to situate a librarian on the 2nd floor as a reminder to stay quiet.
ReplyDeleteI don't think moving Denali will have much effect on traffic in and out of the library, and I agree with Sally that having Denali placed directly in front of IT is a good thing given its propensity to malfunction.
I think #3 is a good idea to combine with #2 as long as you include noise reminders in study rooms as well, as that seems to be where most of the noise comes from.
Thanks for taking on such a great issue.
ReplyDelete#1 looks like the best solution since it attacks the majority of the noise
#2 could run into budget constraints
#3 I don't think people take rules like the proposed one too seriously
#4 seems to the best. We have 2 librarians on the ground floor including a student worker. One can move to the 2nd floor and reduce the noise from the open meeting rooms as well
I like the 1st idea of moving Denali if it has disturbed other people although it hasn't bothered me. The 3rd idea is also valuable as cell phone usage in the library has increased. People not exiting the library to answer their phones has been a pain.
ReplyDeleteI think number two is a good idea. Real easy to implement. Number 1 might be the other one that would be actually implementable. I think number 4 would be a tough sell for the librarians. My other solution to this problem would be too better advertise the earplugs available on the first floor.
ReplyDelete1. Probably has the most to do with the noise issues and distractions. I like this most, but what about buy-in from the Technology department, they might be a pain. Have you thought about surveying students to see if they can attribute where the noise is coming from? This has my vote.
ReplyDelete2. I think it is more the door handles than the actual doors.
3. No, nobody likes a Narc...i dont think you would get student buy-in on this one.
4. Same general idea as above. Kind of a tool thing to do and not a good use of resources.
2) I like this. In my opinion, this is the most innovative of the solutions. It is completing the task through an easy and implementable method.
ReplyDelete