“The reading room in MetaForum is the only place on the campus where you can study in silence,” says Nelleke Baas, team leader Front Office at Data Management and Library (DML). “It is a unique study landscape within the campus. We want to preserve this peace and quiet. Not for ourselves; this is what students have requested.”

Back in the spring, DML distributed a questionnaire among library users to find out whether noise was a bugbear. “We heard back from the first fifty respondents and could already draw a conclusion,” says Baas. “Everyone wanted the same thing: less noise disturbance, more silent workspaces, and a clearer distinction between the green and yellow zones. In the green zone you could hold a discussion in hushed tones; in the yellow you were allowed to whisper. The lack of clarity meant some library users were experiencing noise disturbance while others were questioning the instructions of the staff on patrol.”

Patrol are carried out several times a day, by the twelve student staff and two permanent staff members who assist Baas. The outcome of the survey, endorsed by the fifty other respondents, is that the green zone has disappeared. Now you can at most whisper.

Studying together

Baas is pleased she could take this step and meet the wish for more silent space. In the academic year 2022-2023, 58 percent of the space in the library is red, in other words silent, and 42 percent yellow. To Baas's positive surprise, the survey also revealed that nine out of ten students were familiar with the zones. Anyone wishing to have a discussion will need to book one of the study cabins, as they are called. There are eight large cabins, each for eight persons, and ten two-people cabins. Alternatively, of course, discussion is possible elsewhere, such as at the large tables on floor 1 of MetaForum, and in various other TU/e buildings.

The new measure will remain in force for the whole of this academic year, if not longer. An interesting period will be the TU/e exam weeks, suspects Baas. “That's when the need for silence peaks, and the reading room is packed. We don't have any external students in those weeks, just as we don't at the moment, but it is still busy.”

Acoustics

The acoustics in MetaForum are still an issue for DML. Baas: “There are spatial acoustics and source acoustics. By working with noise zones we can influence only the latter. While there's nothing we can do about the architecture, it is the reason why noise from floor 1 disturbs users on 0 and -1.” She will be looking into the potential of soundproofing materials that DML could use in the reading room.