Paste your essay in here…Introduction
This essay is about how space influences human behaviour within or near the UC Central Library. Conradson (2018) says that an area that has items in proximity to each other is a space. This could be anything from a human to a building to a dog. The spaces I’ll be talking about is level 2 and the silent levels (9-11) of the library. These spaces have items in proximity to each other, and humans are in them all the time interacting with them, which is why I consider both areas to be described as a space.
The silent levels
The silent levels (9-11) are very static and silent to allow students to work in complete silence. Students entering these levels know this because of the big posters and signs which say “no talking, no cell phone usage, no hot or loud food” in order to minimise distractions.
According to Tuan (1979), “soundless space feels calm and lifeless”. This is exactly how to describe the silent levels, because they really do feel calm and lifeless. They feel calm because there is no noise to distract you from what you need to do. There is little to no movement, unless there is someone walking through the bookshelves looking for a book.
There are many rows of books on each level in order to allow students to read through books and take back to their working space. The desks in the silent levels and are placed along the outsides of the room, the desks are facing out the windows to minimise group work and talking as students are not facing anyone. There is also a row of desks in each level as you walk in down the middle of the room with dividers to separate students to give them a sense of privacy.
The only way to get to the silent levels is by the elevator or going up the many flights of stairs. This makes the silent level quite segregated from the rest of the library. Unlike the second level the silent floors do not always have a staff member or librarian present, meaning students are trusted to use the floors accordingly and appropriately to allow themselves and others to work in silence.
Our group surveyed level 11 of the library which is known as a “silent floor”, which is exactly what it is. Results from our survey showed that 97% of people on this level were silently working whether that be reading, writing, typing etc. Half of the students that I surveyed on this floor were female and half of them were male, which possibly tells me that there is no certain gender that uses the different floors of the library. During my survey I noticed that one student was talking loudly on his cell phone while in a silent level. The student was ignoring the posted signs and was defeating the purpose of a “silent floor”. Other students quickly became distracted as many heads turned to face the noise to see what was going on. Perhaps the student did not see the signs or was just disregarding the rules showing no respect to other users. According to Cutting (2012), “when your phone rings in a library, standard procedure is to make for the nearest exit”. If it’s common sense to leave the room if you get a phone call, then why didn’t this student? Why didn’t anyone else tell him to leave the room instead of giving him silent death stares. Luckily his call did not last long and students where able to get back on track without the disruptions of a phone call.
The second level
The second level of the library, according to the University of Canterbury, Library (n.d) “is a group area where you can study and hold conversations”. This explains the level really well, as when I observed it, there were 7 people talking in groups and 8 people in pairs, as well as 6 people doing group work. This shows me that people are using this space as a way to interact with their peers and work together. This space is perfect for group study because the tables are grouped together, which allows people to sit around and do their work together. People also go to level 2 to group study because of the access. It doesn’t take very long to get to the library as it is in the middle of campus. The second level of the library has a lot of computers that people are able to work on, and it also has a few printers. There are many services that you can access in the library, including the support desk at the front of the library, the academic skills centre which is on the mezzanine of level 2, and the disability service. There is a lot of help and guidance in level 2 if you need it, and it’s always buzzing with people. From the 30 people that I observed, 11 of them were walking around, whether this be they were walking in/out of the library, or that they were walking to the printer to print of their assignment. According to Conradson (2018), “spaces are porous, not sealed, things flow in and out of them”. This helps to explain why people are constantly walking in and out of the library. People are constantly moving, and doing new things in the library. Since there is a lot of academic help in the library, this makes it the perfect space to go to if you need it. However, the second level of the library is also very noisy. When the average person hears the word library they imagine it to be a quite place where there is an abundance of books. This is not the case with the second level of the library where its just as noisy as the mall due to people going to the library to possibly stay warm, or sit down in a place where they can interact with others or possibly even work on an assessment or piece of work.
Under the stairs of the second level there is a dark area with dim lighting which has bean bags. This is a perfect place to relax, which is something I saw when observing the second level. I noticed that there was someone showing odd behaviour, as they were sleeping in the bean bags under the stairs. This is not something I expected to see in a library as to me it is a place to study.
Difference between the two levels
There is a clear difference between the two spaces which is caused by the way students interact with them. I believe students are influenced by the way others react and the clear signage in the two places which is what determines how they react in these different places.
According to Gale & Olsson (1979), “space varies with different individuals”. I agree with this statement because different people use different space in different ways. The rooms are also designed for different purposes which is why you’ll find the books up in the silent levels as opposed to the 2nd level of the library. This allows students to focus in a place that has little to no noise, whereas if the books where all located on the second level of the library students would struggle to concentrate.
One of the reasons that I think people follow rules is because of the signage. The signage in the silent area is the colour red, while the signage in level 2 is green. According to Bucklow (2016), “Red is associated with anger, shame, and fear”. However, green is said to be relaxing, and produces calm emotion and actions. (Elliot & Maier 2014). Having said this, the signs in the silent zone are red, and the signs in level 2 are green. This shows that people are more likely to be intimidated when they look at the signs that are in red, as they are related to anger, shame, and fear. When people look at the green signs, they are more likely to feel calm and relaxed. This means that people in the silent zone will follow the rules as they’re in an angry red sign, while the level 2 students have much more calm and laid back rules, as they’re allowed to talk. People are more likely to follow the rules in the silent zone because they are intimidated by the larger signage, compared to level 2 of the library. There are very little signs in level 2, occasionally you see them on a pole. They are about the size of an A4 piece of paper. The rules for the level 2 space are mainly focused on the fact that they won’t allow hot, loud food in the library. However, the rules for the silent level are more based on the fact that there is to be no noise at all.
Conclusion
To conclude, I believe the two rooms are completely different, due to the fact that there are many different ways that people can influence and change the spaces. Both spaces are designed differently to be used in different ways, benefiting those who are using them. Whether that be someone who is trying to find various academic references in the silent floors or a study group working together revising on the previous week’s lectures. Both spaces can maintain exactly what the students need. From my data, I can confirm that people mostly use the silent floor for it’s intended use, with 97% of people silently writing, typing, or reading. From my data I can also conclude that there is an outlier, one student who was obnoxiously breaking the rules by using his phone for a call. Whether he knew he was breaking the rules or whether he just didn’t care, we won’t know. However, what I did find was that he didn’t go unnoticed, with many people staring him down as if they were saying get out of my private space. From my data I have also observed that level 2 of the library is used for a good amount of group work. Even if the people who are sitting and talking in groups aren’t actually doing any work, they are still socialising which is one of the many ways this space is used. The fact that they weren’t doing the same thing but instead they were up in the silent spaces, shows me that the libraries rules are really effective. I think that the reason they are so effective is because of the aggressive red sign in the silent zone, which pushes people to follow the rules. Compared to the calm green sign in the level 2, we can see that people are more likely to follow the rules in the silent zone, in the fear that they’ll get in trouble for doing something wrong. Overall, with my evidence I can see that nearly everyone was using the two spaces in a good way, and there weren’t too many rule breakers.
Reference list
Bucklow, S. (2016). Red: The art and science of a colour. London: Reaktion Books Ltd, p.9
Conradson, D (2018) Lecture 3 [PowerPoint slides] Retrieved from
www.learncanterbury.ac.nz
Cutting, L (2011, April 11) Students: how do you behave in the library? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.theguardian.com/education/motarboard/2012/apr/11/how-do-students-behave-in-libraries
Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2014). Colour psychology: Effects of perceiving color on psychological functioning in humans. Annual Review of Psychology, 65(1), 95-120. 10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115035
Gale, S., & Olsson, G. (1979). Philosophy in geography. Boston: Dordrecht:; D. Reidel Pub. Co. Page 389
Tuan, Y. (1979). Space and place: The perspective of experience. London: Edward Arnold page 16
University of Canterbury, Library. (n.d). Study spaces. Retrieved from http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/library/services-and-facilities/study-spaces/