This week was project week for me, and out of the 4 days I spent doing projects, 2 of those days were spent in the library. And on both occasions, we were told by the security guard that we had to carry out our discussion somewhere else.
I was at the main library in Bugis on wednesday, and we sat in the garden area on the fifth floor. Since it was a garden area, there were no tables or chairs, but only a few benches. We chose to sit on one of the platforms there, since there were power points there. The discussion went pretty smoothly, but after a few hours of sitting on the floor, most of us felt uncomfortable. Looking down at the laptop screen made my neck hurt as well. So we decided to shift the laptop to the only bench that was near a power point. Alas, that power point wasn’t working, so we had to look for somewhere else to continue our project. We looked at the cafe as well as the other garden on the tenth floor, but there were no power points at the cafe, and the power points at the other garden were not working as well. Not wanting to waste more time searching for another spot, we decided to just sit down on the floor at the indoor area near the garden. While that place was considered part of the corridor, the tenth floor was a place few people headed to. There were only a few offices there, and the office staff didn’t say anything when they saw us sitting there as they headed off to lunch. So the discussion continued… until the security guard came. She nicely told us that where we were sitting at was considered a public area, and if we wanted to carry out our discussion, we should go to the study room or the central lending library at the basement instead. The thing is, the study room was full when we came, and everyone in there was doing their quiet studying. How could be possibly discuss our project in there then? We would just end up disturbing and annoying everyone else in the study room. In any case, we happened to be finishing our discussion then, so we just wrapped up quickly and headed home.
The second time, which was yesterday, I was at the Jurong East library with another group of friends. We were having our discussion at McDonalds initially, but due to problems with their wireless network, we decided to head to the library instead. There were a few empty benches around, but we only saw one that was near a power point. Placing the laptop on the bench, we set down on the floor and started searching for some information that we needed for the project. It didn’t go too smoothly because we couldn’t find much information pertaining to our topic online, and we needed more information to be able to do the project. As we were searching through different online databases, the security guard came and said that we couldn’t use the benches as they were for people using library materials. And apparently, searching through online databases provided by the library is not considered as library materials. (Why not?) Since there was no where else we could go, we went back to McDonalds again. Sigh. There were other people sitting around, doing their work without using library materials as well, why weren’t they asked to go somewhere else as well?
I don’t quite understand why the security guards are so particular about things like these. The library counter staff didn’t tell us that we couldn’t sit there, even though the place we were sitting at was really near the counter. Why is it that the security guards are the ones asking people to leave? I can understand why they have to do that if there are people blocking the corridors or depriving others of a place to sit when the library is crowded. But in our case we weren’t causing any obstruction. And it was because we had nowhere else to sit that we ended up at those places. Isn’t the library supposed to be a place where people can come to read and study?
I guess some people will say, just book the discussion rooms instead! And then no one will come and disturb you or chase you away, and you can have the tables and chairs you need to do your work comfortably. But the charges for booking the discussion rooms are way too high! The cheapest one I saw online was around S$6 an hour, which I’m sure almost no student will want to pay just to use the room. The one at Bugis was S$20 per hour, as quoted by the counter staff. It’s no wonder that the discussion rooms always seem to be empty. (Or is it that I don’t go to the library often enough, so I don’t see the rooms being used?) At the kind of rates that are being charged to book the rooms, I think only the corporate people are the ones who might use these facilities. But how many people would choose to have their discussions in the library when they can book other places outside instead? Having those rooms empty is such a waste of space, especially when it can be converted into study rooms or just a space to place more benches for people to sit. At least reduce the charges of booking these rooms, such that people (especially students in need of a place to do their projects) will actually book it.
After the experiences I had this week, I really think that the national libraries are not the place you should go to if you need to do group projects. While places like McDonalds and the like are noisier and there are always people moving around, you can do your discussion in peace without people telling you to leave. Ultimately, at least in my opinion, the best places to do group discussions are still school and someone else’s house. Now if only NTU wasn’t right at the west end of the country…
Valerie. 22.
I woke up with a pain in my stomach this morning, but it went away later. So I went to church feeling generally ok (though my stomach felt a bit weird from time to time), and things stayed that way until after lunch. I have no idea what’s causing it though? I doubt it’s something I ate that doesn’t agree with me, because dinner last night was Hawaiian pizza, which I’ve never had a problem with. I haven’t eating anything unusual for the past couple of days as well. This is the second time this semester that I have this problem, why?