A somewhat tragedy of the commons
At Queen's, they renovated the first floor of Stauffer Library over the summer into what they called "The Learning Commons," refurbished it with many new computer cubicles intermixed with study tables containing comfortable sofas and concealed outlets for laptops. Additionally it is also the home to ITS support (our computer tech support) as well as the Writing Centre (which helps you with your writing, obviously).
Matt is right in that it's no longer a library environment on the first floor in that there is now a noticeable level of whispering and talking permeating the air but frankly, I don't mind it. In fact, it's probably one reason why I've become an avid Stauffer user. I work best with a low level of ambient noise and the study tables are fantastic for group discussions. I think it lets people feel less guilty about interacting with fellow students about their study (but conversely, there are people who do gab on about nothing). But I think the interaction outweighs the occasional loud talker or cell phone that goes off (and people still glare so the attempt at silence is still self-enforced to a degree). It does also force certain people to use earplugs or mp3 players, but there hasn't seem to be any major complaints and the library is still used to full capacity almost all the time. So until someone severely abuses the non-silence (which I hope no one does), I will remain a supporter of the Learning Commons.
4 comments:
Bah.
Kids these days, with their loud music and their baggy pants... no respect.
Back when I was a lad a library was a library.
There used to be books, on shelves. None of these fancy new-fangled gizmos.
There used to be librarians who knew how to organize the books and this knowledge was based on knowing what the books were about. Now there are just undergrads who stock the shelves out of order and only care about making their work-study salary.
There used to be decorum and silence. Librarys were respected because they were the hub of the university's understanding of itself; its brain from whence knowledge flowed out. Now they're just another place on campus to socialize. As if we need that.
"Learning Commons": Its a nice euphamism for wholesale sellout of what a university library should be.
Whatevs. Stauffer's doing a great job of remaining relevant while encouraging rigorous research. Students seem to be drifting towards the internet for research (with all its perils and misinformation); Stauffer's responded with dramatically ramped up e-journal offerings and making research librarians available by messenger client.
Optimus,
Who asked you to interrupt my conservative, declininst, crotchety-ness?!
The only thing that the Learning Commons is still lacking is a stable and consistent wireless Internet connection. I can deal with the 3 hour time limit restriction, but when it takes 3 minutes to load a webpage at this day and age, that's absurd.
Optimus, we have to leave Matt in the wastebin of history. He'll always be behind the times...
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