Switzerland room – temperature & repairs

You wrote:

Feedback on new second floor,  Room Switzerland is very cold (ventilation loud) + door
on the right makes noise.

Thank you for your comments.

The doors on the Switzerland room were repaired and no longer squeak. The ventilation noise is being verified and should be repaired today.  A piece has been ordered to adjust the temperature in Switzerland the room and we are waiting for it to arrive.  Unfortunately, the room temperature will remain lower until the piece arrives. We are also following up with the contractor.

 

Lack of space at Concordia Library

You wrote:

It took me 3 hours to find a study spot this weekend.  3. Hours. Because any and all students from other universities are allowed here. I have never felt like concordia has failed me to this degree before. I pay my tuition. I want to pass my classes. I pay for the resources to pass these classes. My friend that was searching with me, another paying concordia student, had a severe anxiety attack because of it. We went to BOTH campuses and not one spot to be had. I can’t believe there is such a blatant disregard for Concordia’s own students. I have a final Tomorrow and wasted my day trying to study.

Thank you for your message.  We are sorry that it took you so long to find a place to study this weekend.  This week was record-breaking for us in terms of library attendance.  Unfortunately, over the years, the Library size has not increased proportionately to the increase in student enrollment.  We hope that when the Webster Library Transformation is completed, this will be less of an occurrence.

Regarding your comment about non-Concordia students using the library, in the past, when we checked ID cards at the door, we found that the vast majority of library users were in fact our own students.  Furthermore, when we start checking ids, our sister institutions also start checking for ids, thus, restricting access to their libraries. We also posted a blog about this issue back in October: https://libsuggestions.wordpress.com/2016/10/17/webster-library-as-a-public-space/ 

On this webpage, http://library.concordia.ca/locations/study-spaces.php , there are links to listings of study spaces outside the library.  Also, depending on where you live, you may want to consider visiting a public library.  You can browse for public libraries near your home at this website:  http://cbq.banq.qc.ca/cbq

Once again, we are sorry that you had a frustrating experience finding a place to study this weekend.  We hope your exam went well.

 

Noise after hours in the Library

Students have written us about noise after hours and there is a procedure to follow in these cases.

After hours, if you encounter noise issues in silent study areas of the Library, please let the security agent on duty at the Library entrance know about any problems.

The security agent will call it in and another security agent will be sent to deal with the problem.

Thank you.

Webster Library as a public space

We’ve heard from a few of our students about limiting access to the Webster Library to those with valid ID cards only.

We do limit access to Webster and Vanier Libraries to people with Concordia IDs between the hours of 23:00 and 7:00.

As we are publicly funded however, we are committed to being open to the public during regular hours.

We often get this comment and were curious to see just how many people were actually non-card carrying students.  It turns out that fewer than 10% of the people in the Library at any given time are non-Concordians.

The current renovations which will be completed within the next year, will double the seating space at the Webster Library which should more than meet current demand.

There is additional quiet student space downtown at the Grey Nuns Reading Room, which is restricted to people with valid Concordia IDs only.

Please see our website for location and opening hours of the Grey Nuns Reading Room: http://library.concordia.ca/locations/grey-nuns.php

There is also additional study space at the Vanier Library on the Loyola campus, which is open 24/7 for the academic year and for those with valid Concondia IDs between the hours of 23:00 and 7:00.

Concordia has also assembled some lists of great study spaces on both campuses, please see the links below:

• Group study spaces
  outside of Webster Library
• Group study spaces
  outside of Vanier Library
• Other study spots at Concordia
• Secret study spaces around Concordia

 

 

Construction noise

You wrote:

Announcing or putting up a sign that there will be disruptive construction would be nice. It’s 10:15am on Friday and loud construction noises are making it
difficult to concentrate in a blue zone.

I’m very sorry that you encountered this situation.  You do not mention what library you were in so, I cannot explain what happened on that particular Friday.  However, there certainly is a lot going on in both libraries right now and although we do our best to warn our users of potential noise, it is sometimes out of our control.

Restrict access to the Libraries

You wrote:

Hi,
I have been a concordia student for 2 years now and there is the ongoing problem in the library of not having enough room. Especially during exam periods and
high rush hours (lunch, etc) it is difficult to find a spot. There is one big contributing factor to this issue which is that many students ARE NO FROM
CONCORDIA. It is OUR school and not theirs. WE pay for the resources and its is CONCORDIA’S duty to check people’s identification in order to avoid this problem.
Can you please help us with this?
Thanks

Thank you for your message.  I understand your frustration.  However, Concordia University is a public institution. Our libraries are “public”, in the sense of “open to everyone”.  According to other libraries in the Montreal area, our students use them all the time.  Under those circumstances, it would be very difficulty, if not impossible, to close our doors to members of the community at large.

Two years ago, for a short period during the exams, we asked security agents to check id cards.  Managing the exceptions was challenging and time consuming and did not generate a significant number of free seats.

As of the beginning of the Fall 2014 semester, the Grey Nuns study hall will open (300 seats + 14 group study rooms) and will only be accessible to members of the Concordia community.

With the renovation and expansion of the Webster Library, we will more than double the number of seats (from 1300 to 3300). At the end of the first phase of the project (Fall 2015), we will already offer more study seats that what we have now.

More on “reserved” seating

You wrote:

hi. its exam time and the library is not able to accommodate the need for study space.  yet today i see 2 individual study spaces that are prime grade A spots, quiet, great view, etcetera,  these 2 spots have had student books on them for at
least 4 hours with no one actually being at the desk.  one student did come back for about half an hour and then left again leaving books/folders there that were
probably of little significance. 
in as much as study space is sparse this time of year i suggest that security go around and when they find a spot that has been “reserved” without a student at the desk for more than 30 mins that a sign be placed on the the desk informing the student that if the space is not cleared in 10 mins that that the books will be removed and sent down to security where they may pick up their belongings. this particular event was at webster 4th floor on “Bishop” side where the burgundy booths are, its a great spot and ya i wanted it..

Thank you for your suggestion.  We already have something similar in place for workstations .  I have forwarded your email to the Libraries’ Administration.

Compared to others

You wrote:

The library should start a “respect” campaign. Today, I spent the afternoon in the library and when asking people to please stop talking in the blue zones, I was sworn at, ignored, told “oh just ignore me”, “this will only be a few seconds” and flat out “no”.

I don’t aggressively ask people to be quiet. Students who can focus with noise just don’t care.

and

http://utsc.library.utoronto.ca/quiet-library-policy
Please implement a policy such as this one.

Thank you for sharing.  The University of Toronto at Scarborough Library’s policy is a lot like ours:  http://library.concordia.ca/services/studyspaces/ .  I think that our problem is primarily one of space.  Our student population has grown so much in the last few years.  It only takes a small number of uncaring individuals to make  a situation escalate out of control, especially when everyone is under so much stress.

I have heard a lot from people who want silent (blue)  study zones, yet our orange zones are very popular.  What do you think?  Is it true that you “just don’t care”?

Noise from above

You wrote:

Hello,
I would like to complain about the noise coming from the room located above the silent room at the Vanier library (1st floor). It seems that furniture is always
being re-arranged. I have been in the silent room 5 times this week (at varying hours), and 5 times I heard the re-arranging of furniture. I know that the noise
does not last for extended periods, but it is definitely recurring. This seems to be the only area in which people consistently respect the blue zone designation (including both Webster and Vanier), however it is being ruined by the noise in the above-located room.
Thank you.

Thank you very much for writing in.  This has been brought up before in the Suggestion Box.  The room above the study hall is not part of the Vanier Library (VL).  It is in the Vanier Extension (VE).

Extra staff presence

You wrote:

The “blue zones” at the Hall building library are consistently polluted with cell-phones, conversations among students, eating; the library chat thing is completely futile, since by the time anyone arrives the particular disturbance will likely be over, yet 5 minutes later it is sure another will begin. The only way to possibly put an end to it is to have someone monitoring the blue zones: I mean someone standing there to tell whoever starts talking to stop talking or leave. There is often someone standing at the entrance watching everyone who comes in, presumably to see that no one brings food. Often someone walks by the tables to address people who have broken the food rule – I’ve not once come here to study without being interrupted consistently, and I’ve not ONCE seen it stopped by someone other than another angry student – I’m not the only one! 

and

Can you please have someone make sure that the rules about the blue zones are actually enforced? Tonight around 10 there was 3 guys hovering around the cubicles talking and joking . They were even eating food and no one said anything.
I don’t get the point of having rules if you don’t enforce them because it makes it seem more as a suggestion then anything else.
Get serious! I pay for this opportunity to study in peace and quiet with my tuition.

and

During exam period, we usually see more and more students not respecting the blue zone. I was wondering if library staff could pass by occasionally to reinforce the rules.

and

Please do something against people talking at the library. There’s always people talking in the blue Zone and it’s very annoying. Everybody should present their ID card and if they talk they get a fine. The money will be used to purchased equipment for the library. 
Thanks

and

Hi,
I am currently in the blue zone in the large area on the third floor of the downtown library. The noise level is ridiculous, I hear laughter, conversations from across the room, and the people around me are having full conversations without even whispering. This has occurred numerous times, especially during exam time. 
Is there any way to increase security surveillance in the blue zones to reduce the noise level and eliminate this problem? It is a great disturbance to students who come to the blue zone for a quiet area to study. I have seen one security guard pass in the 7 hours I’ve been hear so far and he did nothing about the people talking, even the louder ones.
Thank you.

and

I am very disappointed with the hall building library staff and students “studying”. It is currently exam time and I come to the library blue zone to study in silence. I understand slight noise and maybe a word or two between students, but it has be come a free for all. I bring ear plugs and I still here people talking a laughing it sounds more like a coffee shop or bar than a library. I went to the security officer and was told just ask them to be quiet i can not do anything.  How is one student supposed to tell a room of 50 to 75
student to be quiet. I am very disappointed in this school library.

Many thanks to all of you for writing in. As of this week, the Libraries have increased staff participation in monitoring the noise/food situation in both libraries. Should we require a stronger intervention, security agents can and will be called in.

Please remember to be considerate of others.