Reports of noise level increases have caused the Scarborough Library to rethink adding more signs to the third floor.
Ann Henriksson, the coordinator of reference and government documents, stated that lately she has not noticed any reports but noted there have been some in the past.
Henriksson said, “We have a student advisory board, and they put up signs last fall to deal with the issue.”
The dean of the library, Ann Watson, also confirmed the Student Library Advisory Group worked to create signs in order to reduce the noise level.
Watson said, “We are going to look at the signs and the placement of them. We might do table tents for the study areas.”
Another source of additional noise level is the stairwell connecting the second and third floors. Since February, the Scarborough Library has begun closing the doors of the stairwell in order to eliminate the amount of echoing.
Watson said, “Closing the doors will cut down on the noise that gravitates up and down the stairwell.”
The main floor also has been a cause for concern. Anthony Walters, a senior graduating in May, said that the biggest problem of noise in the library is due to the computers.
Walters said, “The computers downstairs are kind of pointless to try and study on because they are right beside each other.”
Walters stated that the computers upstairs are ideal because of the space in between, making it more difficult to get interrupted by other students close by.
In regards to the computers, Watson identified the main floor as more of a space for collaboration.
Watson said, “The lab where all the computers are is more of an open place students can actually talk and work together. We want it to be a welcoming space, but I don’t want students to feel like it’s so restrictive.”
Watson said the Scarborough Library has tried to create several different types of study areas. There are group study rooms and quiet lounge areas in order to give students a variety of places they feel comfortable.
Both Watson and Henriksson, however, confirmed that if a student ever feels disrupted, he or she should come down to the public services desk and tell the supervisor on duty.
Watson said, “I wouldn’t recommend that the student handle the situation, just for their own safety.”
Watson wants to ensure that the atmosphere is not viewed as being stern or mean.
“We are not the silence police,” she said.
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