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Comment: New library- Drive for excellence or unholy mess?
For those old timers at Queen’s like myself, it can certainly be agreed that the new library is a welcome addition to the University. For years we had the overcrowded and noisy Seamus Heaney library; a place that at times perhaps mirrored a night out rather than a study venue. We’ve had an antiquated, crumbling tower block, and a Science Library that also looked like something from the past. It was thought that The New Library at Queen’s would offer the ‘be all and end all’ solution to these problems. After all, it IS part of the University’s master plan: 1) Russell Group status 2) drive for Top 100 University status in world 3) attract as much money/investment as possible…blah blah blah…
BY PAUL LILLY
If we are to believe the Queen’s website, the New Library marks “the greatest contribution to the University’s search for excellence.” Yes, it is true that the New Library certainly is an excellent building. One can do nothing but be in awe of the C.S. Lewis Reading Room or majestic views over Botanic Gardens. Yet, image and first impressions are one thing, but is the building really fit for purpose?
At a recent meeting of Academic Board, students as well as myself raised quite serious concerns about the New Library. Many of these centered on the proposed opening times for ‘exam period.’ While we were told that current Library opening times are “reflective of demand”, certain students felt that demand is much greater than Library services actually realise.
With the Library being busy on most nights, students felt concerned that Library plans for 24-hour opening are not sufficient as we enter exam season. John Gormley (Director of Information Services) and Elizabeth Traynor (Assistant Director Library Services and Research Support) informed the Academic Board that there were indeed no real plans (save for contingency plans) to open anything other than the front computer room of the building for 24 hour access. Exam season therefore, would have no open study space for Queen’s students after normal times. This is certainly a worrying scenario, and one that should be addressed now, rather than later.
While the Seamus Heaney may have been occasionally loud, the building did meet the needs of students; at least one large open study space was open throughout the night during exam season. I feel that The New Library should at least open the entire bottom floor to accommodate demand. If they cannot do that, then it is a poor reflection on the New Library, and will only further highlight the University’s scant regard for the views of its students.
Paul Lilly is VP Equality and Diversity in the SU.
Tags: Gown, Library, newspaper, Paul Lilly, qub, Queen's, queen's university, student, The Gown
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Does anyone else think that Paul Lilly is full of something?
Seriously, not only was the diatribe poorly written, but he is preaching at us when he should be doing something about it.
I’m fed up with paying for dead wood like Mr Paul Lilly who has an ego surpassed only by that of the Union Speaker Mr Alex Redpath.
It’s a pity that with the election of people like Paul we succeed in elevating mediocrities, when now more than ever we need smart, capable and able student officers representing students.
At least there are a couple of other decent officers in this years Exec- although people like My Lilly certainly lower the collective ability of the group.
Ah, how I lament.
Shane you don’t seem to have a chip on your shoulder as much as a whole potato. Your comment deals very little with the content of the article and seems more like a personal attack on Paul himself.
Paul has brought the matter up with the relevant parties in his capacity as one of the SU Exec and has even named members of the academic board that have been consulted on the matter.
I’m sure Paul is working to resolve students difficulties with the new library, he’s certainly doing more about it than someone bitching about him on the internet.
I have the luxury of not having to use the library any more as a location for studying but would have preferred some semblance of privacy and quiet that the old tower block afforded. When you have to revise material for up to 11 hours a day you begin to appreciate the small quiet cubicles as somewhere to concentrate on your work.
While the new library has plenty of modern elegance it suffers from the same open plan problems that make it hard to concentrate on your work without distractions.
As a first year at Queen’s, I won’t pretend that I know much about Union politics. But the fact that this lad took the time to write this article is good, or at least looks good. Maybe he has an agenda, maybe he wants people like me to think that he’s great for writing the article. But in general, he hasn’t done anything wrong yet. I do hope he goes on to improve library services though. I can only work late at night. But then, wouldn’d that be education VP’s job?
“…and will only further highlight the University’s scant regard for the views of its students.”
Stop wasting time writing articles and do something then exec!!!!All of ye!!!!
Paul, you seem to have left out the solution which you presented to Council. The library will not open because there is not the demand, so the obvious solution, which you brought up at the last council meeting, was to create the demand. In other words, my fellow students, the ball is in our court. If we can show the library that the demand exists by actually being there at all hours of the day and night during exam periods, then they will open other areas of the library.
I have to say that I tend to agree with Shane – that article seems no more than a vanity exercise. Do something about it and tell us then. I mean – don’t students pay you to do something about it? Not just raising it at this committee and that group, but actually doing something to rectify it. Finding solutions and the rest of it!
How much power does the VPs actually have? Can Paul Lilly change decisons/plans made by the QUB main players? Could you answer Paul if you’re reading this? I’m sure you are.
“Science Library that also looked like something from the past” Evolutionist or creationist, we all know the science library was built in the past. Clever clogs.
The new library has not yet experienced an exam period, so why the uproar? The poor librarians are probably quaking in their boots. Paul, would you want to be a librarian trying to control such a huge library late at night, so close to the Holylands? Perhaps that is a more pertinent issue.
If they are anything like the students I know it won’t meet their needs unless it has a bar, a stash of dope and ipod stations etc etc. They certainly don’t need the books, what a waste, sure all you need is a wee bit of goggle and Bob’s your uncle for the exams!
CB to be fair now, that library is definitely going to be a nightmare at exam time. We need the uproar now in order to hopefully avoid a nightmarish situation. No free computers, printing calamities, books not where they’re meant to be etc. I never had any problem with the old tower block, but everytime I go in to the library these days there’s something to get my goat.
From week 4 onwards, students have experienced queing for up to an hour to gain access to a computer, waiting in the daily morning build up of library traffic, wandering around each level to scramble for a desk and dealing with the packed printing system. The committee says create a demand by packing out the library..the student body have sucessfully done so proving to be worthy of 24 hour opening..so if you would’nt mind lads, any chance you could focus on setting it up for us and voicing our concerns rather than focusing all your energies on the clubs and societies ‘back to school disco’ in the Bot tomorrow night?
I think the new library is already failing to meet the demands of Queen’s students. Only a couple of weeks into the new term, I went in around 10am to work and by 11am all of the computer stations were occupied. If you have to wait 15 minutes for a free computer reasonably early on a wet Tuesday morning in the second week of term, what hope is there of being able to get quick access to one in January or May at the height of exam fever?
Last week I had to wait 10 minutes for a free computer, and then when I finally did get one and logged on, the Internet kept stopping which made logging into Qcat and trying to access a journal very frustrating, so I ended up having to wait for another console to become free so I could move over to that one.
That’s not to mention the difficulty of accessing journals using the new (and no doubt ludicrously expensive) electronic shelving system which seems to be the pinnacle of style over function. What would have been wrong with normal, fixed shelves like in the old libraries where you don’t have to have a degree in computer engineering to actually get access to a journal? Not to mention Qcat stating that a journal from 1978 was in the library, but when I went to get it, finding out that particular journal was only stocked from 1985 onwards.
I have already had several frustrating experiences in the new library this semester. The old libraries weren’t perfect but I have never had as much irritating and time-wasting things happen to me in the library before, especially considering the new library should be designed to make it easier and quicker to use the services. I think it’s a joke that they aren’t going to reopen the Heaney library at least over exam periods to cope with demand. And I’m sure I’m not the only person who feels this way, almost everyone I’ve spoken to agrees with me that, although the new library looks good, there have been so many stupid decisions made and it’s so open plan that it’s harder to study quietly without something breaking your concentration.
Don’t think the library is as amazing as it was built up to be. I’m only first year and all the information Queen’s sent to me when I was applying for unis included information about how brilliant the new library is. It’s not. Every time I’ve went to get a book out, it’s been taken, has a queue and if on the off-chance it hasn’t already been taken out and I go to find it then it is never there. Google Scholar has been my saviour.
Surely Queens have a responsibility to its students to provide somewhere during the exam period. The Seamus Heaney was always crowded so its no as if opening more of the library would be a waste of time
This is just another one of Queen’s cut-backs .There have already been drawbacks on classes, feedback and money towards clubs and societies to save on finance. Funny that the only cut-back there hasn’t been is with our extortionate fees, which seem to be growing year by year .Ironic isn’t it?
As a final year student and knowing full well that I’ll well be pro-plusing the life out of myself come January to get me through my exams, I’m disappointed that a university that is hoping to push its fees well into the ten grand bracket cannot afford to give me an actual desk (Ikea retail value of about of £4.95) during these stressful times.
The sabs need to stop whinging about it and try and get together a pressure group to ensure the library opens at least two of the floors( I can’t see how else the student population can be accommodated )during exam time.
On the other hand if this doesn’t happen I may just thoroughly enjoy being there when it all kicks off…pencil cases at dawn! At least the Gown will get a good front page story out of it…
Yes ‘1st year engineering’, I was thinking this is Barry Duffy’s remit.
Perhaps he’ll speak out, now that his counterpart is getting all the attention for HIS job…
‘loving this debate’ – since reading all the recent comments, I am starting to realise that the problem does seem a bit more nightmarish than I thought. So will retract what I said and agree that it needs to be sorted now. However, it seems that opening hours are not the issue. I cannot see extended opening hours truly eradicating the printing queues, computer queues and poor internet access. Obviously the new library is lacking the organisation that such a mammoth building requires to accommodate a student population the size of Queen’s. Why did they not just keep the Heaney open as an open study area, as it was before? That puzzles me.
Hi folks,
I raised the issue of library opening times at Academic Board along with other representatives. Following this meeting, and following a meeting held by the SU President, we have been informed that the entire bottom floor will be open over exam period. I think that this is a much better solution, (than just opening the front computer room which was previously planned) and offers a better deal for students.
Your ‘deadwood’ and vain sab, Paul xo
Good work Paul, don’t let the people on this board distract you from your work.
There’s an internet law that states that its 100 times easier to criticize anothers actions than it is to back up your own.
Late night learning… you obviously fancy Paul, eh?!
Slash, I’m currently in said library. I attempted to get a book from the 1st floor…it wasn’t there. I attempted to get a pamphlet, and it wasn’t there either!
On the plus side, the librarian who helped me was very nice and was most apologetic at my misfortune…
My essay just won’t be as good now though. Cheers Queen’s. You might have cost me my 2:1.
Fantastic job Paul, very well done!
unlucky shane….it puzzles me how the other ‘decent officers’ you failed to resolve this issue in a way that the deadwood paul lilly has. in fact id love for you to point out what exactly those other ‘decent’ officers have acehived so far in office. now dont get me wrong, im not proclaiming paul to be a hard working saint, in fact I think the whole union sabbatical posts are PR exercise by queens to protray the illusion of some degree of control by students and in practise have no control whatsoever. All im saying is that this seems to be first issue that actaully affects the students that was resolved and it was by aforementioned vain deadwood…so where does this leave the other officers in the deadwood scale???
as for CB….”close the holylands”….good one….nnnaaatttt. get a life you pathetic individual and go back to whatever hole in stranmillis you crawled from….
Hold on…!?
In what way did Paul Lilly resolve any issue regarding the library?
He wrote an article…he went to a committee meeting. That’s activism to a whole new level there! (note the sarcasm)
The Gown should investigate whether or not Paul Lilly was really the person to make the difference.
Clearly Queen’s managment team didn’t graduate with a degree in Mathematics. There should be at least one computer availbale on campus per every 2 students attending Queen’s, and the library is falling short of expectations!
Why should we need to wait until the dead of night to aquire a computer and silence? We are paying in excess of 3,000 per year in fees and, for the majoirty of us we have nowhere to complete the workload!
I say, while seamus Heany is available open it up to the student body around exam period!
Who is with me???
If nothing changes, action is needed.
I think most of the furnature and computer equiptment in the Heaney was sold off a few weeks ago to various other departments within Queens.
If the building were to reopen for the exam period it would be limited to studying facilities alone without any computers.
The main Libiary may be a safer bet as the old desks have remained in place in the tower block. I’m not sure whats going on in the old building itself though.
If you want to know why the computers in the new libiary are constantly full, one word, Facebook.
You can’t get facebook in the main library, I’ve tried.
I must say i’m extremely disappointed with the new library. It is too open-plan and for students like myself who actually like to concentrate on their work, the new layout offers nothing. For 3 years I have used the tables on the subject floors of the old tower because it was the only place that offered privacy and tranquility. Today was my first day in the New Library and after hunting the place up and down for somewhere to hide myself, I resorted to one of the single desks with the wooden board separating the person infront. I sat there for over 2 hours and barely got one page of notes done with the amount of distractions going on and people walking past. After 3 years of excellent grades, I fear for my final year in Queens.