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- Although most interviewees agreed that the study rooms are a lot more comfortable after we've added the couches, they thought bean bags should also be available in the study rooms.

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- many thought it wouldn't be a good idea having coffee machines on every floor. This is due to the extremely large number of computers in the plaza floor and the rare books on the third floor. People generally liked the idea but thought we have to be careful where to place them without damaging the library's facilities

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- People also complained about how the windows would allow sunlight in at all times - they wanted to have control over that in case it was too bright or when it's dark out.
The majority of people agreed that adding curtains/blinds would be a good idea.

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- most people didn't like the placement of the sofas and thought it would be better if they were moved to face the windows so they would fully see the view of the gardens.

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Brainstorming

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wall colour - blue stimulates thinking and creativity

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stacks of sticky notes represent the repetition of ideas from interviews

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Yellow; Background Research
Purple; observations & ideation
Blue; interviews & unpacking
pink; prototyping
green; testing

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Occupants are prohibited from using any equipment that may cause a safety hazard (e.g. extended electrical cords, cables, cooking appliances, etc.)

Furniture cannot be moved into or out of a study room.

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Neither the Library nor the University is responsible for unattended, lost, stolen, or damaged personal items.

Unattended personal property may not be used to "hold" a room by any individual or group.

Unattended personal property left in an unoccupied study room may be removed by library staff and taken to the Library's lost found (located at the desk).

Lost Items Policy

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Occupants must conform to the University's policies for personal conduct and the Library Resources and Facilities Use Policy.

Smoking, sleeping, cooking, card playing, partying, painting, music, club meetings and/or any other activities disruptive to others are prohibited.

Noise levels from any conversations and/or equipment must not disturb others.

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Study room privacy is not guaranteed.

University Libraries staff reserve the right to enter any group study room at any time withour prior permission of the occupants.

Any obstruction of windows is prohibited.

Occupants may not post signs (e.g. Occupied, Do Not Disturb, Keep Out, etc.)

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Two or more people constitute a group for purposes of using a group study room.

Only one group can occupy a study room at a time.

Individuals should use a study carrel or other seating elsewhere in the library.

An individual can not hold the group student room while waiting for the arrival of others in the group.

Study rooms that are not occupied by at least two people within 15 minutes after the start of the reservation may be forfeited.

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Study rooms are reserved online.

Study rooms may only be reserved by George Mason University students, faculty, or staff.

Study rooms may be reserved once a day up to 4 hours per day.

Advance reservations vary by library.

All Bookings Must be Consecutive (no gaps between chosen time-slots).  Failure to do so may result in a cancellation of a reservation without notice.

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Library study rooms do not fulfill their purpose

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- TV Screen only in plaza-level study rooms
-  a total of 11 study rooms in the library
- 1 computer per study room
- plaza level study rooms - barely any natural light
- 1st & 2nd floor study rooms - great natural lighting

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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I interviewed a sophomore majoring in economics, he told me that he mainly uses the library to study and to sleep. I found that interesting because why would he not sleep at home? he told me that a lot of the times he doesn't get much sleep at night and has very long gaps the nest day at university so it's easier for him to sleep in the library, other times he'd simply be too tired to go home and simply has to sleep in the library to gather enough energy to get an uber and go. When asked about his use of study rooms, he told me that he's never booked one and doesn't even know how. He only uses them if he's going with someone else that has a booking. He feels like going in there alone to study would not be effective as he will not be able to study. He likes to study in large open spaces because small spaces distract him. He's the type of person that can't sit in one place for very long and so small spaces distract from what he's doing and make him focus on what he's missing out on, but by being in a large space, he can see the world go on around but still focus. Surprisingly, he cannot study in loud spaces because loud noises are distracting for him. When asked about what he would change about the study rooms, he said he'd add beanbags as study rooms should offer what classes don't and in this case its comfort, because people need to be comfortable in order to study.

I then interviewed a freshman, planning on majoring in business. She mainly uses the library for it's amenities (printing, using the computers) or to hang out with her friends. She doesn't use study rooms much, because the view from the garden floor is much nicer (get a lot more natural light) She has a hard time studying outside of her house, so when she goes to the study rooms with her friends they end up playing music and not do anything productive. She likes to study in small spaces because she's easily distracted by her surroundings. When it comes to studying she has to do it at home but solving or doing her assignments she can get that done anywhere. For her to be able to study, she said she needs to be in the mood for it otherwise she'll "fish" for distractions. Occasionally she can listen to music when she studies, just as long as she doesn't know the lyrics. She specified that she needs two notebooks to write in, one where she can be messy and another for her to write down what she's learnt in an organized way. She also needs to be comfortable to study. She said she mostly uses the study carrels in the garden floor, they don't get any natural light at all and that bothers her. She'll usually study in her sister's room because that's where the most natural light is. She said that she'd like to see more than one computer in the study rooms because having just one in a group setting doesn't make sense.

My last interview was with a sophomore majoring in business.She mainly uses the library to study, get work done for group projects and hang out with friends. The main use she gets out of study rooms is working on group projects because it's the only place her and her team can meet and it creates an environment where they are able to brainstorm and focus. She likes to be in large spaces when working with a group and small spaces when working alone, small spaces enhance her focus as they are more secluded from distractions. For her to be able to study, she needs to have good wi-fi connection, colored pens/dry erase markers, and somewhere quiet to sit. All of these things are essential tools that promote focus and creativity that help a visual person to study effectively. The only thing she'd like like to change about the interior of the study rooms is that she'd like to add more color for the room to induce the process of studying, she'd also like to increase the amount of time you can book a room for, because two hours a day a lot of the times isn't enough and she'd like to use them for a lot more time.

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Images of other study rooms at other libraries

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Images of other study rooms at other libraries

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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A space that evokes the same environment as the place you first learned it

Natural light - work space should not face the light ***

Ambient noise/ classical music

Make it a positive space/ avoid making it too blank

Needs to be spacious

Access everything you need before you start:

1. Standing desks ?

2. Chairs

3. Computers

4. Index cards

5. Board markers

6. Dusters

7. Pins

8. Loose paper

Adjustable temperature

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https://ideas.stantec.com/blog/studying-the-spaces-designed-for-studying-science

https://ait.libguides.com/students/learningstyles

https://www.thoughtco.com/create-a-study-space-1857109

https://www.educationcorner.com/study-location.html

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My first interview was with a sophomore majoring in accounting. She said she visits the library approximately 3 times a week but doesn't use the study rooms as much. She expressed that she found the study rooms (especially the ones in the plaza and underground level) were depressing as a result of the lack of natural lighting. Since there are only 11 study rooms in the library she believed that all of them should have adequate lighting with large windows/glass walls like the study rooms on the first and second floor. When asked about her preference in terms of studying in a large, crowded room or a small, quiet room she chose a small quiet room because she felt that she wouldn't be able to focus and would get distracted easily if she's surrounded by other people. Despite her preference of studying in an isolated area, she says the study rooms are not ideal because they're "always cold" since the temperature cannot be adjusted and due to the "depressing" environment they create. From her general body language; crossed arms and no direct eye contact, she came off as a closed off person which may explain why she prefers studying in isolated areas.

My second interview was with a Senior majoring in finance. When asked about how often she visits the library she said approximately 3-4 times a week. However, she's never used the study rooms at all because she felt that the process of booking a room is too complicated and that the time slots were too short. Additionally, she also mentioned that the reason she doesn't use the study rooms as often as others is because she prefers studying in crowded areas rather than being isolated on her own. She thinks that she'd be up to using the study rooms if it's with a group of friends, otherwise she'd get distracted and procrastinate when she's on her own. She finds that it's very necessary to have more than simply one computer device in the study rooms so that people could work together in groups since sharing one device would be extremely difficult within a large group of people. When asked about what she would change about the study rooms, she said that she'd make them more comfortable (e.g. adding a large couch in each room) and have 3 computer devices in the large study rooms and 2 in smaller ones. From this interview I could tell that she had a clear idea of what she wanted and she was confident with her ideas as she maintained eye contact throughout and used hand gestures to elaborate on her ideas.

The final interview was with a junior majoring in computer engineering who visits the library daily and occasionally uses the study rooms. She finds that it's very necessary for her to have music playing in the background while she's studying because it helps her focus. She feels that the study rooms are uncomfortable which causes her demotivation whenever she spends time there. She believes that there should be a lot more study rooms and spaces in the library especially since they're always filled up during finals and midterms. She described the study rooms as very "dull" and "boring" with minimal facilities. One of the main issues she has with the study rooms is that they're extremely difficult to book (since they're busy all the time) and that the time slots available only last for half an hour per person. She also finds it extremely inconvenient that none of the computer devices in the library have softwares and applications for certain majors (e.g. engineering softwares etc...). This interviewee seemed to have an issue with the convenience of the study rooms overall.

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My first interview was with Ahmed Ali who was majoring in mechanical engineering. He said that he was a heavy user of the library. He stated that the reason behind his frequent visits there is the huge workload he experiences with his major. I felt while listening to that sentence, he was really under pressure and stress because of his major. When I asked him why do you prefer the library rather than studying at home, he replied by saying that he’s always having group projects and it needs a lot of work from all group members. Due to that, they chose the ideal place to meet up at, which was the study rooms in their condition. According to Ahmed, he believes that study rooms at AUC fulfill its main target but it needs some changes or updates. For example, he said that sometimes it was so hard for them to book a room at the time they all agreed on. In other words, time slots of the study rooms weren’t always matching their meeting timings. Not only that, but he also mentioned that study rooms close with the library which is generally so annoying as they’ll have to move to a café or anywhere else to continue their work. So, what I got from him that he wishes if study rooms open hours are extended and construct more of them.

My Second interview was with Omar Atef majoring at Economics. He said that he doesn’t use library or the study rooms much often. He only goes there when having something to finish while being at the university. However, he used to have a look while passing be them. He noticed that many students wait and walk there for some time searching for an empty room. He also was aware that there weren’t enough rooms that could satisfy the demand on it. He told me that university could build more rooms with better facilities to help the students benefit from them.

My last interview was with a computer engineering student. I got from him that his major really focuses on programming and heavy usage of applications. He also told me that he constantly visits the library to finish up his assignments and work, as he lives far away from the university. He takes the advantage of the availability of Wi-Fi there too. Sometimes he used the study rooms with his group mates when it’s a group project like programming a game for example. He said that, it was annoying how computers there was slow and weren’t occupied with most of the used applications by students. Plus, they faced some difficulties when trying to download the required programs. He also mentioned that it was so hard for them to book a specific time that suits them, as most of the rooms were constantly booked. Another drawback he found, the early time they close at, since sometimes students need to work over-night rather than at the morning.

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_______________________________________
First Interview:

- Computer Engineering Student
- He mostly uses the first floor to socialize
- The second and third floor he uses them to study and do projects
- He uses the study rooms to finish projects and prepare for presentations
- He recommends that the study rooms to be larger because he like to move around frequently
- He also recommends that it becomes quiet in order for him to concentrate
- The study rooms should acquire a refrigerator, bed, and speakers
- He highly recommends that the reservation time becomes more; for example, one hour or more
- Some students reserve two rooms because they need more time

_______________________________________
Second Interview:

- Plaza floor help desk
- He uses the library for work as a specialist
- Study rooms need to be reserved 2 days before, which causes students to be annoyed.
-  Sometimes a student reserve a room that has a broken AC or problem with the machines so after waiting all this time he does not benefit
- Student behavior is an issue because sometimes they watch movies that makes noise or use the computer mouse as ashtray. Sometimes even they cut the wires of the computer

_______________________________________
Third Interview:

- Rare books
- Student come to study quietly especially for the thesis, presentations, or exams
- The study rooms are always cold because the books do not dust, which affects the students in a way that makes them uncomfortable.
- Students sometimes have a group work but they cannot study because its a quite floor
- Most students come to the rare books to make something specific or want to do it quickly. So they recommend that the computer are fast access rather than login
- The study rooms in the rare books are open to one another which disturbs the students next to them. A solution would be to close the walls in order to isolate the sound

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My first interview was with a senior majoring in business. She visites the library on a daily basis, but she rarely uses a study room because of the booking process. Her main purposes of visiting the library are studying, printing, and working on projects. In her point of view, study rooms are same as the classrooms but even smaller in size, don’t offer extra facilities or even meet the study requirements. She added that the study rooms are totally not comfortable, very small for groups, and the chairs are really poor. She said that the library in general offer enough equipment in quantity but there quality is very bad. She said that there is no need for any technology assistance. As a result of preferring to study in large open areas, she had a comment on the lack of windows in the study rooms. The library offers a quite environment in general. If she had the opportunity to change anything in the library, she would have added circular group clusters, been bags, couches, renew all the devices in the library with high tech ones, and add a vending machines for coffee and snacks. In general she wants the library to be a user friendly one. Form her general body language; hand gestures and direct eye contact, she was really confident, optimistic, and wants to make a change. Finally, she was really aware of everything going around in the library.

My second interview was with a junior majoring in political science. She visites the library 2-3 times a week to study and to borrow books. She rarely uses the study rooms because she doesn’t like to feel isolated. She prefers to study in large open crowded areas where she put on her headphones. Coffee and music are necessary while studying, for example she believes that rock music stimulates writing. She only prefers study rooms in group projects. She said that borrowing a laptop from the library is the worst experience ever. The main problems in the study rooms are the AC and that there is only one computer. I can tell from the interview that she had a closed body language when discussing. She strongly dislike the facilities and had negative experiences in the library. I felt that she is so pessimist about music.

My third interview was with a freshman, her intended major is IMC. She visites the library 3 times a week to study, use the computer, to sit with her friends or to relax. She never had used the study rooms before. She is totally unaware about the booking process, borrowing the laptops and printing rooms in the library’s ground floor. She believes that there are enough study spaces and enough devices in the library in general. She prefers to study in large, quite, and calm areas because she feels anxious from the noise. She would like to make the library more comfortable by adding bean bags, couches and coffee machines. In addition to this, she complained about how much noisy and crowded the plaza floor is. she added that she needs assistance with the computers. Throughout the interview I can say that there is a major issue with the awareness with the freshman. She was not really comfortable while talking because she felt that she don’t have enough information about the topic. She had the feeling that the library is fulfilling its purpose.

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Study rooms are rooms designed in such a way to promote studying and help students, staff or faculty to finish up their work. They may be reserved once a day up to two hours. They're to be reserved online by your university email and ID number. If you try to log-in or verify any other email than your university one, the site will prevent you from reserving as a kind of safety. In other words, reservations are limited to currently-enrolled students, staff or faculty in a certain community. Only one group can occupy a study room at a time and the group should be no more than four members. Not to forget to mention, priority is given to groups with or without reservation. Single-user reservations aren't valid as it's seen as useless.