Noise near Service Area

You wrote:

It would be a good idea to remind the staff to keep it a little down, especially during the finals. I am doing a huge research project on one of your computers and the staff is actually meeting out with their friends (I suppose, since they’re laughing together and have been for the last 10 minutes). I have definitely nothing against having fun at work but there is a limit when you are working in a specific field.

We are students and we need some calm, which is exactly the reason why I came all the way here. I have no words to express how let down I am. I ask at the desk that it would be appreciated if they would pay a special attention to this and I am told that if I am not happy, I should rent a laptop and go to the blue section. Isn’t the orange section I am in supposed to be quiet, still? And I have a laptop, I just feel more comfortable doing my work on a desktop… what’s my solution?  I thought the library was there for us, and I am extremely unhappy now.

Thanks for letting us know about this incident. I am sorry to hear about your disappointing experience. Your preference for working at a computer workstation rather than with a laptop is perfectly legitimate. Workstations located near service areas can be problematic if you are hoping for consistent quiet, however, since occasional noise disturbances are unavoidable there. Though the discussion you witnessed may well have been social, we also assist library patrons there, and it is easy to slip into conversational tones in these instances.

The computer lab LB 203 is a silent blue zone that offers workstations and you would have a good chance of working in silence there for the next few weeks, though this will no longer be a solution in September and October when the room will be reserved for library workshops.

There is currently no perfect permanent solution for students who wish to work in silence at computer workstations, though it is something we are looking at. Your comment will be on the agenda at our next noise and staff meetings.  Thanks again for writing to us.