Thank you to everyone that completed our survey on Study Spaces. The results have been collated and I have passed along your feedback to the University. They have agreed to make changes to improve services where it is possible and in the best interests of students to do so. These will be announced in the coming weeks and I will post updates here accordingly based on the recommendations provided.
The University should consider:
- Increasing the number of spaces available on campus as a priority, including private study spaces where possible
- Creating a system to allow morning/afternoon/evening booking options in some but not necessarily all study spaces
- Ensuring the advertised opening and closing times of study spaces are adhered to, and extended (during weekends) where possible
- Allowing students to enter the library to collect books without the need to book
- The other results and feedback from this survey and working with the Guild Officers to investigate other areas of improvement
Read the full report here.
Updates:
Creating a system to allow morning/afternoon/evening booking options in some but not necessarily all study spaces:
The Alan Walters building is now open for morning/ afternoon slots for College of Social Sciences Students https://forms.office.com/Pages/ResponsePage.aspx?id=z8oksN7eQUKhXDyX1VPp85OVgATzuw5Bi_EOa2wIuy1UMVpNTFA3SVpBM01EOVhPTFlVNFU0QUNXMS4u
Ensuring the advertised opening and closing times of study spaces are adhered to, and extended (during weekends) where possible:
The University has and will continue to review opening times to ensure demand is met. Details on opening hours can be found here: https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/libraryservices/library/libraries-and-opening-hours/opening-hours.aspx
Allowing students to enter the library to collect books without the need to book:
The library has introduced a “collection only hour” for University students and staff who only wish to collect books and other physical items from the library, without using a study space. The hours are 8:00am-9:00am on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, for collection only - no booking required. The building is fully cleared at 9:00am. Normal study bookings (via Eventbrite) begin at 9:30am on those days.