Be our Valentine? How you answered…
You wrote some lovely letters in many different languages; some were poignant pleas, some great suggestions and even a marriage proposal…
Yes! :-*
We are so grateful that you chose different languages to express how you felt, and that so many people kindly translated your words. Out of 43 comments we managed to have 15 translated; here are some examples and the rest are on our Facebook page (please, suggest translations for the others!):
When I was drowning, she/he became my air. In the cold, she/he became my warmth. In the dark, she/he became my light
I love you, library
I love studying! (“Good Good Study, Day Day Up” is an old saying which means “Study hard and make progress every day”)
In all we got 236 comments, but they can’t easily be categorized as negative or positive. Many were suggestions or requests.
We’ve sorted them into the following themes and have included all translated comments in the relevant categories:
- What you like about the space /facilities (20) and some suggestions on what we could improve (16)
- Library temperature, mainly enjoyment of warmth! (17)
- Lack of space (12)
- Toilets, generally lack of (10)
- Books and resources (10)
- Noise (6)
- Library as a social study space (5)
- Love and break-up
- You <3 the Library (thank you!) (30)
- Friendliness of Library staff 🙂 (17)
- Heartbreak / Valentine (12)
- Break-up letters (3)
- Untranslated 11 (from a total of 43)
- Unmentionable – some comments included names, so we’ve saved their blushes by keeping them secret, and a few made us blush! (54)
- About the Library Cafe (10)
- IT Services (3)
What you like about the Library spaces, facilities
We are so happy you feel welcome and comfortable in the Library 🙂 We know people can spend a lot of time in the building and so we work hard to make sure it is clean and a good place to be! We are glad the opening times are working for you. Occasionally we are asked about 24/7 opening (there is a comment requesting this below) and we have had a couple of trials of this during exams, most recently in 2012/13. Although at the time of the trials not many people used the Library after 2am, we will continue to review your feelings on how we can improve opening hours for you.
We are also happy to say that we will be offering free doughnuts, coffee and fruit again this exam/revision time. Look out for information on our Twitter and Facebook pages. We also know from our lovely colleagues in Student Services that the delightful alpacas will be making a return to the Library this May!
What we could work on
We are very sorry, but there isn’t a lot we can do about the seagulls. The Library roof is netted to try to keep them from nesting there. The strange noises form the pipes on the upper floors has been reported…eerie! See below about the provision of hot water.
Some suggestions for improvements
Although we don’t currently have plans for an ATM, a microwave or a bar, we are looking into providing an Amazon locker outside the Library for you to easily pick up your orders. We are also considering how we can provide free hot water boilers for you outside of the Cafe. We will be asking students and other users to give us their views on our current policies on food and drink…watch this space!
Heating
There is quite a bit of disagreement about the temperature: too hot, too cold, just right!
Comment translated to: “I don’t understand why it’s always cold here.” We have had issues with regulating the temperature and report any problems to our colleagues in Estates. If you ever feel the Library could be warmer, or cooler, please email [email protected] and tell us where in the building you are (different floors and areas on floors can be regulated in different ways) and what problem you are experiencing and we will do all we can to resolve the issues.
Lack of space
The comment reads: “We need more comfortable spaces to study and to be able to concentrate”.
We understand how difficult it can be to find space you feel able to study in, especially during exam and revision time. We are working with colleagues across the University to look at spaces you can use outside of the Library building, around town. We are also looking to double the Cafe seating and add over 350 study spaces to the Main Library building as part of the next phase of redevelopment which we think will take place in the summer of 2019. We will be able to offer you these extra seats by relocating staff and collections from Level 1 (the basement) to the new Eden Campus in Guardbridge.
Toilets
Comment reads: “The queues for the girls’ bathrooms are long! 
”
We understand toilet provision in this busy building is a priority. We will increase the toilets for women, men, and will introduce gender neutral toilets in the planned redevelopment. We will also be providing toilets in the newly-expanded Café once the next phase of redevelopment is complete.
Books and resources
We are very glad our Distance Learners feel supported! If you are off campus, away from the University for any reason, you can access electronic resources where ever you are! Take a look at our guide for help.
Comment reads: “I love you even though you don’t have any books in Bulgarian. P.S. At least, now you have an inscription of adoration”. If you have any suggestions for books in Bulgarian or another language, please email our book request service: [email protected]!
Noise
Although we do not currently have plans to change the zoning of the floors to include a quiet level (we feel this would be too subjective to regulate) as well as the social level and silent floors, we are looking at changing the signage in the stairwells to make it clearer that this area should not be used for phone calls and chatting.
Social space
The social aspect of your study time is something we are proud to support.
Love and Heartbreak
Library staff:
Our staff work hard to offer you great service and we are so happy that you feel we are friendly and welcoming!
Love the Library, or we are ‘OK’ and ‘alright’ – we’ll take it!:
Love in different languages:
No love for us:
We are very sorry that our love for you is not reciprocated; we will work tirelessly to win you over! Can Mr Darcy offer you access to millions of research articles? Just saying!
Valentine blues:
Just one last comment to leave you with:
…well, sometimes…
Thank you again for leaving your comments, we love to hear how you feel in your own words. If you can spare 5 minutes, please fill in our survey, you could win an Amazon Echo!