Library: study hour or social hour?
Photo by Kristen Van Tine
Student Minh Nguyen studies quietly in the library.
Noise levels at such a small school like LFA haven’t been an issue in years past. However, now that the old LFA Library has been reorganized and various rooms have been repurposed, guidelines for quiet study versus socialization areas have deteriorated.
LFA has a long standing tradition of students self-monitoring their noise levels and at all times making sure they are respecting their peers who are studying. Unfortunately, it appears that this message hasn’t registered with all students.
Senior Nathen Johnson sees the problem of noise in the library coming from not only a lack of guidelines but also a lack of social space.
“It gets too loud when the Garden Room and/or Little Theatre are unavailable because people begin to move their socialization into the library due to a lack of space,” said Johnson.
The library is divided into three separate areas; the main Reading Room, the Poetry Room, and the Little Theater. The Reading Room consists of individual work desks, three group tables, and sofa chairs by the fireplaces intended for reading. This area is specifically for individual study and any sort of quiet group study. The classroom in the back, or the Poetry Room, is meant for group study and conversation. The other section of the library area, the Little Theater, is open space for study, group work, and other activities during the academic day.
Student Minh Nguyen studies quietly in the library. New library signs posted by every desk read, “Quiet please! Study area.”
Despite these guidelines that are set forth, it seems that students have decided the morph the entire library area into a socialization contest with little to no studying being able to be accomplished. With this rise in volume inhibiting LFA students from completing assignments and studying, some students wonder if it is time for LFA to do something to monitor this?
Rita MacAyeal, Director of the Library and Archivist, tries to maintain order in the library when she can but ultimately it is up to the students.
“It is expected that students keep conversation levels down and respect the need for their peers to study, especially in the Library Reading Room. There is no faculty or staff member sitting in the Library Reading Room or Little Theater to monitor noise levels. My office is between the two spaces, so if I hear things getting too noisy I will go in and ask students to quiet down,” said MacAyeal.
