Challenge: A current problem exists in the library room reservation system where groups who are finished with their current rooms are unable to indicate in the system that they no longer need the room. Library study rooms are in short supply especially during finals week when every room is reserved for extended periods of time. This is a problem that we as a group will address. The following are the 3 best ideas that our team has come up with in order to solve this problem:
1) Create a system where students or library staff can cancel reservations on the online system which will then indicate to students searching for a free room through email or some other method of communication that a room as just opened up. This will involve changing the current online software program.
2) Build some sort of physical sign system where occupants of a room can change the sign outside of the room to indicate if the room is open or occupied. Groups who leave their room early would be able to change the sign to indicate that they have left the room early. The sign could take many different forms.
3) Our final idea would be to limit room reservations to groups only which will reduce the traffic in the rooms. We would do this by requiring more than just one person in order to reserve a single room through the online reservation system. This will decrease traffic to all rooms in the library and allow for better groups study times.
Go for idea 2. Idea 1 will hardly work because students will never log in just to cancel a reservation for a room they no longer need. I mean, I barely do it when I need a room. Plus it's hard to implement in the little time we have. Idea 2 has the advantage that it doesn't require much effort from students to make it work. Anybody leaving a room early can turn a sign that is just outside the room. Idea 3 will just make the room reservation more inefficient and I am sure people will be unhappy. Good project!
ReplyDeleteI like this problem because it affects us all. I think you get at a key issue that people really care about.
ReplyDeleteSolution 2 is attractive for several reasons. People don't need to learn something new. That system would be intuitive and obvious for people to use. It would also be easy to see for the observer. It is also relatively cheap to set up and implement. The downside is a person needs to be in the library to see that system, unless it can translate into something online. However, it is a good bet that if someone wants to use a library room that they will check out the rooms while in the library. Overall, this system makes sense.
The new software would be hard to implement. I don't see that happening without crossing too much red tape. The "only teams" idea might work depending on the time discrimination used--maybe team can only use the rooms on Fridays or something. Otherwise that idea is rather restrictive.
I think the best solution is #2. It is the one that requires the littlest amount of work on the student's part, and will probably have the highest compliance.
ReplyDelete#1, although a good idea, won't work because students rarely schedule rooms when they need one, let alone cancel a reservation.
#3 will annoy students and they will probably ignore the rule. The rooms are important when you need privacy, such as when taking a phone interview. I don't think you want to take that away from students, since as of now there is no other option..
This is a huge problem that annoys the piss out of me. If I reserve a room and end up leaving early or not using it, I modify my reservation to let someone else use it. Its not THAT hard, right? How about if you aren't in the room by 15 minutes into the reservation the room is open to the first person who walks by it? What if once you got in the room you had to log back into the system to show that you are there? If you don't the reservation goes away.
ReplyDeleteI like #2, but instead of a sign why don't people just log back into the system and delete their reservation?
#3 makes sense as there are cubbies for individual work. I'm guilty of booking a room even when I'm alone.
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ReplyDeleteThis is definitely a problem that needs to be solved. Idea 1 sounds feasible, but might need to be tweaked a little due to time constraints. One idea could be to just create a recently open room posting when rooms are no longer in use. One issue with this idea will be figuring out how to get students to update the room status when they are finished. Idea 2 seems the most tangible solution and would be the easiest way for students to alert that they are finished with the room. I believe idea 3 is already a rule, but it just not easy to enforce. In my opinion, figuring out a way to enforce this rule will be the biggest challenge for this idea.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of canceling reservations online but I wonder if groups would actually take the time to do that. I hope they would! I think it is smart to have all the reservation information remain online as opposed to physical signs on the door. Although the signs on the door would be helpful, it would require that people looking for rooms continue to walk around the library and check for openings. I also think this could be confusing since it could give contradictory information. In regard to your third idea, I think you would encounter a lot of resistance if you prohibited individuals from reserving library rooms. Even though it makes the most sense for groups to use the rooms, I think a lot of individuals use them as well.
ReplyDeleteSo if the technology is available, I think you should definitely encourage people to cancel reservations online when they are finished with the room!
#2 seems like the best solution.
ReplyDeletePeople can already delete their own reservations, so #1 is not necessary.
#3 seems like it would require monitors to enforce.
I would love for this problem to be solved! In the context of this class, I think #2 has the greatest potential. You could put a mini dry erase boards outside each room where students could indicate that the room is free until X time. To aid adoption, you are definitely going need to educate the student body about the new procedure and encourage people to participate. I think #2 provides a quick, easy way for students to alert others that the room is available.
ReplyDeleteI like ideas #1 and #2, and perhaps these could be combined. The additional capability of canceling a room reservation should definitely be added to the system, and maybe even as a short-cut on the Owen Central homepage. However, I think the behind the scences cost for changing the software might be high so I would investigate that part of it too.
ReplyDeleteAs for the physical signs on the doors, that would be really effective and easy to do.
As a student I am not in favor of the third idea because I would find it extremely annoying to have to have another member of my group make the same reservation that I just made in order to ensure we get the room.
This is a tough problem to solve. I think that solution #2 would solve the problem in some ways but people forgetting to change signs could result in issues as well. It will however take the least amount of work of all three.
ReplyDeleteHaving room cancellations done online might be too much to ask of students who finish using the rooms early. When people leave a room, they may want to just leave and not go through a hassle of changes online.
I think the final option may result in a lot of complaints from students. I don't think it'll be from the individual students that want to use the room as much as people in groups having to get two people to log in.
Idea #2 has the most potential here. A physical sign would remind people to let the status be known, and would be the easiest to implement. Specifically on idea #3, placing restrictions on the room reservations may only frustrate students with an already difficult system.
ReplyDeleteI vote for #2. I think the best way to implement would be the white board where you write your meeting end time. Otherwise we're no better off than just leaving the room empty.
ReplyDeleteOn #3, a memo was published around this time last year that was signed by the Dean. It said only groups (2 or more) were allowed to book rooms, and a group could not occupy for over 3 hours. It also said it is potentially an honor violation to falsely book a room, though I'm sure that's never been exercised.
I like number you first idea the best. Perhaps you could consider having the system automaticall canceling a reservation if a student doesn't check in within the first 10 minute window of the reservation. That would prevent the librarians from having to monitor the rooms.
ReplyDeleteI like the concept of the 3rd idea as well, but maybe only require the larger rooms with monitors to need more than one person to reserve.
I like the idea of putting up signs. There are times when I need a room just in time and walk around to see what room is available. You can add what time the meeting will start and end
ReplyDeleteI like #1--it will most effectively address the issue at hand, although it will definitely require some coordination on the IT side. If we're going low-tech, then #2 is a great way to go. The primary issue I see with #3 is that sometimes people do need the space to themselves to take calls, have interviews, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a great problem to tackle. It seems to me that your biggest hurdle will be changing students' behavior, which is why I like option #2 best. Installing a sign could cost little to no money, and it would be an easy change in student behavior. Flipping/sliding a sign is much faster than logging into the system.
ReplyDeleteAs far as your other solutions go, both of them already exist. Students are able to log into the room reservation system and delete their reservations if they leave a room early. Additionally the "group only" verbiage is already in the Library Study Room Guidelines: "Room reservations are for groups only. No student may reserve a room for individual use. Individuals are allowed to use study rooms when they are unoccupied but groups can take over a room in use by an individual."
Dean Bradford sent these out last year, but they may need resending. Maybe that could be part of your solution. I'm happy to forward you a copy if you think it would help in developing your final plan.
I like the first idea. The current software is hard to navigate and you cannot see all of the times and availability on one screen, you have to scroll over and down- way too confusing. Would it be possible for individuals to also be able to cancel their reservations? Or for people to be able to sign out online when they leave the room so if people finish early then the availability is immediately recognized.
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