Cultural Change in the Davis Centre Library

Recommendations

Food in the Library

Recommendation 1: No Hot Food in the Library.

Rationale: Some library policies ban all food in the library because the residue attracts silverfish, mice and other pests that can damage printed materials in the collection. Some library policies ban only hot foods, citing the distraction that the odours cause to other students. With the existence of the Browsers coffee-shop in the Dana Porter Library, we are in a poor position to ban all foods in the Davis Centre Library. We do know, however, that the odour of hot food in the Library is distracting some students from their work here. We therefore recommend that hot food not be permitted in the Davis Centre Library. NOTE: This has consequences in the section immediately below.

Comments: In the promotional material, we will need to give examples of foods that are allowed and foods that are not.

Study Space Monopolization by Absent Students

Recommendation 2: Clear vacant carrels after 30 minutes during high-occupancy times of the term; this policy should be announced right from the re-opening of the Davis Centre Library.

Rationale: The Davis Centre Library has a shortage of study carrels. We often see students scanning the carrels trying to find a vacant carrel. There is not going to be an increase in the number of carrels as a result of the current phase of the renovation. A pilot project was undertaken during the Winter Final exam period of 2004 in which carrels were cleared if there was no one at the carrel for a period of 20 minutes. This pilot project resulted in more carrel availability. We recommend that in future this be done during the very busy periods; occupancy surveys and the former pilot project data may be consulted to help determine when those might be. We suggest, however, that, if we institute Recommendation 1, we also lengthen the 20 minute interval to 30 minutes. Our reasoning is that a student may be planning on working nearly continuously in the Library for several hours, but wants a hot meal. At busy times it would be difficult to order and eat a hot meal, and be back in the Library in just 20 minutes.

Suggested Promotional Language: “During busy periods in the Library we will institute a policy whereby we will remove your belongings from a study carrel if you are away for an extended period of time.”

Recommendation 3: Publicize the existence of study space in the Porter Library, Tatham Centre, SLC, etc.

Rationale : Many students are probably not aware of the significant number of available study carrels in the Porter Library, as well as study space in the Tatham Centre and the Student Life Centre. Publicizing the existence of this additional study space might reduce the demand for carrels in the Davis Centre Library.

Suggested Promotional Language: “Davis Centre Library full? You have lots of choices when it comes to studying at UW. Try some of these other study areas: Dana Porter Library, Tatham Centre interview rooms, Student Life Centre.”

Noise in the Library

Recommendation 4: Institute and enforce different noise zones in the Library

Rationale : This is a theme that emerges from various library policies that we have seen; it also appears in the literature that we saw summarized. Perhaps the most important point here is providing different areas for different users and differing usages. Another important point that we have seen in the literature is that if you want an absolutely quiet area, you really need to have nothing but carrels in it; introducing any tables will make it very difficult to achieve an absolutely quiet area.

Specific Recommendations:

 Recommendation 4a: Designate the Library as a quiet work area in general.

Rationale : The Library is an area where users come to do research and study; a reasonably low noise level is essential for this to happen.

Comments : The idea here is that some quiet conversation is permitted here, but not loud conversation that is distracting.

 Recommendation 4b: Designate silent study zones in (1) carrel areas away from tables, and (2) the current periodicals area.

Rationale : We already have one area of this type, but our users have repeatedly asked for additional such areas.

Comments : This area would not have any talking at all. According to the latest layout for the renovated Library, this would include (in addition to the current periodicals area) the following areas: (1a) the former “absolute quite area” located on the Ring Road side near the former Library Exit; this area will still be isolated from busy areas of the Library (including study tables) in the new layout; (1b) the row of carrels in the Galleria side of the Library and the row along part of the back window area. Some discussion needs to take place after the renovations to make better decisions regarding some carrel areas that might also be added to the current designations. Note: there will have to be some signage indicating that the areas are silent study areas. This may be problematic in more open areas like the row of study carrels in the Galleria side of the Library.

Recommendation 4c: Continue to provide group work rooms, but stipulate that noise not be heard outside the room.

Rationale : Many of our users need to work in groups. We already provide group work rooms for this purpose. At least one library policy that we saw stipulated that the noise made in a group work room should not be heard outside the room. This is especially critical for the two work rooms along the Library Office side of the Library, since they are adjacent to one of the carrel areas mentioned in Recommendation 4b. Hence we have added the stipulation about noise not being heard outside the room.

Comments : More noise would be allowed in the group work rooms (essentially the existing group work rooms) than other areas of the Library. There will not be any more group work rooms added in this phase of the renovation.

Recommendation 4d: No cell phone use in the Library.

Rationale : Cell phone use in the Davis Centre Library has become a major noise nuisance in the last year or so.

Comments : A number of library policies absolutely prohibit the use of cell phones in the library except in areas where there are public payphones or in stairwells. We recommend instituting this type of policy here. Since the Davis Centre Library has neither pay-phones nor stairwells, we propose that cell phone use not be allowed in the Library at all. We agreed that cell phone text messaging is allowable provided there is no audible sound coming from the phone. Our basic message is no receiving or initiating calls from within the Library.

Suggested Promotional Language: “No cellphone use in the Library, as it disturbs others. Set your cellphone to vibrate/silent mode, and use it outside the Library.” [The wording needs more thought.]

Education

Recommendation 5: The new policies need to be publicized at the start of term; this will require the creation of news releases, signage and a brochure.

Rationale : Some of the literature indicates that the new policies need to publicized before being put into practice.

Comments : Appropriate places where the new policies might be publicized include: the Imprint, the Gazette (for faculty and graduate students), Visitors Centre, Library Instruction Committee, the Library website, user education workshops and tours, and signage in the Library. We also believe that it would be very useful to have staff members greet users entering the Library in the first several days and hand out a brochure that explains and justifies the new policies. It is also important that our staff, particularly at the two service desks and the attendant’s desk, be aware of the policies and the associated sanctions, and understand that the policies apply to Library staff as well.

Enforcement of the Policies

Recommendation 6: Regular monitoring should be undertaken to ensure compliance; responsibility for this programme should be assigned to a full-time staff member.

Rationale : The literature that we have seen suggests that monitoring needed to be done regularly, especially at the beginning of a project like this, if one is to achieve compliance with the new policies. For the sake of continuity, it would be desirable for this responsibility to become part of the job duties of a full-time staff member. We ask that the Library Executive Committee support this and make decisions concerning which department would be responsible; that department would then decide which staff member would take this on. This support is fundamental to all the recommendations made in this document.

Comments : The full-time staff member would also need to be given appropriate resources to do this, such as access to part-time staff, and guidance from counselling resources or human resources in dealing with difficult people.

Recommendation 7: Staff need to have the authority to impose sanctions on users in order to enforce the policies; these options need to be made clear to staff.

Rationale: Without the authority to impose sanctions, the policies will not be enforceable.

Comments: The person responsible for running this program will have the responsibility for developing the sanctions and the procedures for enforcing the policies. The sanctions would include asking users to leave the library, or contacting Campus Police if serious problems.

Factors External to the Library

Recommendation 8: The University should be strongly encouraged to add to students' study and socialization space in the Davis Centre.

Rationale : The library is being used as a sink for students to hang out in between classes (especially in DC 1350 and 1351), and as a place for students to socialize in the evening, especially when it is dark elsewhere. This results from a lack of other options, not necessarily because they want to be in the library.

Comments: Two spaces in particular could benefit from change. First, the space in the Great Hall could be better used if it were changed to create an area that was more conducive to socializing. This could be achieved through the replacement of the existing furniture by chairs and tables more suitable for socializing, as well as through a significant increase in the lighting level in the evening to create a less depressing environment. Second, the Food Services space ("Bon Appetit") could also serve in the evening as a place for socializing (or study) after it is closed for business. Here too, it would be necessary to increase the lighting level significantly in the evening. These two spaces could take up a lot of the slack, if they were made more inviting. If this is not done, many of the other recommendations may be considerably less effective than they might other be.