Photo Courtesy / Anna-Maria Kalesoski
If you’re looking for a quiet study space on campus, look again. The UTSC library may house two quiet study rooms, but during peak study times, it’s a fight to get a spot, even if half the desks are taken up by student belongings with no students in sight. If you’re looking for a spot that isn’t outrageously loud but isn’t necessarily pin-drop silent, well, you’re out of luck.
Even though the upstairs study carrels are designated as quiet study space, there’s likely an even number of students studying and others who are on Facebook, YouTube or socializing in large groups.
In a survey conducted by The Underground, 82 per cent of students rated the library at least moderately loud on a typical afternoon, while 94 per cent found the noise level in the library at least moderately distracting. Yet, the library remains most students’ top choice for studying on campus.
“The library is my choice of study space because it has the most [electrical] outlets and is quieter relative to UTSC’s other study areas, like the H-wing or S-wing,” said Alicia Bahadur, a fourth-year neuroscience student. “But the library is still beyond loud on a regular day.”
Shane Rodrigues, a fourth-year English student, said the noise level in the library has been an ongoing problem throughout his undergraduate degree.
“Studying at UTSC is always a battle. If you don’t want to study in a hallway, your only option is the library, which is full of students socializing,” he said. “It doesn’t feel like an academic space.”
Librarians, students and student union executives point to the inefficient architectural design of the library as part of the noise problem.
Mary Ann Vernon, circulation services team lead at the UTSC library, said the architectural vision for the UTSC library was for it to be a “marketplace of ideas,” similar to a bazaar. If this was the vision, it’s certainly proved successful.
Photo Courtesy / Anna-Maria Kalesoski
“I think, in hindsight, it’s apparent now that not all students can function in that environment effectively; there’s a variety of learning styles and studying styles,” she said.
“It’s quite a bit of a design issue, as opposed to being an issue with librarians and staff,” said Carl Bagot, SCSU’s VP academics. “By having that massive open space and study carrels up top, the noise echoes and carries.”
Bagot does not anticipate the construction of a new library in the near future.
Vernon and other library staff emphasize that the library has regularly invited student input in order to make changes (hours, food policy, etc.) to suit the needs of the majority of students.
In April 2008, after increasing demands for quiet study space, the library annexed space from the ARC to form the two quiet study rooms on the upper floor of the library.
The library currently has around 104 quiet study spaces. In comparison, the four-floor UTM library, though larger than UTSC’s library, has 550 quiet study spaces and plans to open an additional 130 this summer.
“I think it’s easier to accommodate multi-zones if you have multi-floors; you can have something like a quiet floor,” said Vernon.
Elizabeth O’Brien, co-ordinator of library systems at the UTSC library, believes part of the problem may be a lack of awareness about the quiet study spaces the library has to offer.
According to O’Brien, library statistics show that in December 2011, there were only nine hours in the whole month during which the ultra quiet study room was at full capacity.
Rodrigues, however, finds this statistic hard to believe.
“The statistics might say the room isn’t full, but students often leave their stuff on a desk and disappear for hours, wasting valuable study space for students who really need it,” he said. “Even if you want a moderately quiet place to study, it’s impossible to study outside a quiet study room.”
Despite survey complaints about the library noise levels, 56 per cent of students admit to being too loud in the library.
Photo Courtesy / Anna-Maria Kalesoski
“It’s a bit of a conundrum, because I think everyone [who] goes in there has some time that they’re social in there,” explained Victoria Owen, UTSC’s head librarian. “Everybody seems to contribute to it and when they don’t want it to happen is when they’re buckling down to study and it may be someone else’s time to relax a bit.”
Bahadur agrees that students are quick to complain about noise levels when they’re studying, even if the same students are loud in the library at other times.
“I know so many people who dislike it when people talk even in quiet study rooms, but it’s hypocritical because they themselves talk in the library,” she said. “In general, students have an absolute lack of consideration for others.”
Bahadur said she has often asked library staff to ask students who are disturbing her to quiet down.
According to her, and 42 per cent of other students, people who are being disruptive in the library should be asked to leave by library staff. Yet, less than one per cent of students said they would report loud students to a librarian and only 14 per cent would tell them to be quiet.
This raises the question of whether students have a right to complain if they’re not willing to do anything about it.
“[In a quiet study space,] when things get out of hand, I know library staff will intervene to remind students that this is, in fact, a quiet study space,” said Owen.
Vernon, who frequently walks around the library to monitor noise levels, admitted it can be frustrating when students don’t listen, “but that’s part of our role.”
Bahadur said that part of the problem is students don’t always listen to library staff, and begin talking as soon as library staff walks away.
“Library staff should definitely monitor noise levels, but ultimately students have a responsibility to monitor themselves,” added Rodrigues.
“I think it’s a shared onus. I think that students have every responsibility to create the environment that they want,” said Owen. “But I think there is no unanimity. You will not get unanimity from the student body; it’s too large and too diverse.”
Bagot also said that a change could only be made in the library if all students are on board. While survey results and general discourse on campus indicate that students are frustrated with loud noise levels, O’Brien thinks there are an equal number of students who want a collaborative space where they can openly talk to other students.
“This will never be a silent zone, ever…We don’t see the library in today’s day ever being a complete silent area, nor would we want it to be because I don’t think that’s assessing all students’ needs,” O’Brien said. “We want it to be a multifunctional space, and that comes with challenges when we have a big open space.”
Nishchal Arora, a third-year psychology and neuroscience student, admits he has probably been loud in the library at one time or another, when studying with friends for an exam or working on a group presentation.
“I do feel guilty, and that’s because I get extremely annoyed when there are students using outdoor voices for nothing other than to socialize,” he said. “I can’t be a hypocrite, but students should realize what the space upstairs is meant for, and that’s not to catch up on shows or play games online, and especially not to talk with friends.”
“It definitely boils down to a combination of the library’s poor design, lack of space on campus and the fact that students refuse to adhere to a noise policy,” said Rodrigues. “No one’s expecting absolute silence, but a moderate, controlled noise level shouldn’t be too much to ask for.”
The bottom line: if you want a quiet library, be quiet.
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