Feedback from the student survey: Quiet and silent study spaces

In our recent student survey, when asked how they use the different spaces available in the LRC, 61% had used the Group Study rooms, and 56% the Quiet Study rooms. Comments included that there were too few quiet study areas, and a note that the study carrels were claustrophobic. With regard to noise levels, 58% were either fairly or very dissatisfied.

We have occasionally received requests from students to make the entire LRC a quiet area, like our old libraries at Corstorphine and Leith. We don't think that this would be a viable solution as the LRC is designed to facilitate all types of learning, including group and social study, which will inevitably create noise. What we have done is give you a large number of quiet, silent and individual study spaces. In addition, further quiet space is being created in the Academic Reserve area over the summer months.

Before the survey was launched we undertook a headcount survey of the usage of our 4 quiet study rooms and the silent study room, over 2 one-week periods. The results of this are below:

Week commencing 6 April 2009

Week commencing 20 April 2009

We would like to encourage all our students to make more use of rooms 1093 - 1096 and 1128. Remember that you can borrow a laptop from the Service Desk to use in the former but no IT is to be used in 1128. It goes without saying that mobiles should be on silent and all calls taken outside the LRC or in the new phone zone but more on that later.....