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New Study rooms at Tarver Library

New study rooms at Tarver Library
New study rooms at Tarver Library

Tarver Library opened 18 new study rooms on September 1 after hearing in April that students wanted more space and more options.

Eleven of these rooms are 24 hour study rooms on the first floor, in addition to seven new study rooms on the 3rd floor. Some of them are designed for individual study while others are more conducive to group work.

"Kind of like Goldilocks -- you take your pick," said Beth Hammond, the Dean of the University Libraries.

The library also incorporated a few study room upgrades, such as glass dry-erase boards, movable furniture, additional outlets and flat-panel monitors that display your computer screen, all in the hope of finding out what works for students best.

The transformation all started in an Student Government Association (SGA) meeting last spring. In the same meeting where students raised concerns about housing, some also spoke up to say that there was a greater need for more accessible study space.

"Any time students tell us they want more space to study, that's something we listen to," President Underwood said.

Underwood said that he did a little informal investigating and walked around the library to look at the study rooms. They were all full.

The next morning, Hammond got a phone call.

"[Provost] Scott Davis called me, and he doesn't call just to chat," she said. "I knew it was something important."

They wanted to find a way to create more study rooms in Tarver, and they wanted to make it happen before the fall of 2015.

Hammond and her staff started working with the upcoming SGA administration to establish what students were looking for.

SGA had already sent out a survey asking students what they needed in study spaces, and received over 500 responses in the first 48 hours.

The results of those surveys can be seen on the top two floors of Tarver during normal library operating hours, and you can see the bottom floor options all day -- and night -- long.

 


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