Finals week is on its way, which means that Thomas Cooper Library is about to get a lot more crowded.
Students often turn to the library for a safe study area in the leadup to finals, but when Thomas Cooper's seven floors become clogged with studiers, some students find themselves dissatisfied.
"There’s people like on the floor and you can’t find a table and it’s really loud," Nicole Roswurm, a third-year middle level education student, said. "So you try to get things done and you just kind of give up, and you go home."
For some, the library may be their only viable study environment, and the overpopulation stunts their ability to work.
"I can’t study at home, so when I can’t study here, it’s super frustrating because I won’t get anything done at home," Roswurm said. "So then I have to try and find an alternate place to go."
According to Jason Carroll, the weekend supervisor at Thomas Cooper, even though finals are fast approaching, it’s business as usual.
“There isn’t really too much prep that we do differently than what we do at our normal time,” Carroll said.
The library rules will remain the same during exams — the building will still be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week to students. Study rooms will be available for rent two weeks in advance, and reserved textbooks will still be available for checkout and subject to the normal rules.
“We’ll still have the same amount of staff that can handle the influx,” Carroll said.
Still, students had a few suggestions as to what could be done to better accommodate the greater numbers.
Brooks Robertson, a second-year middle level education student, suggested people try to spread out during finals week.
"I think if people went off the main levels — there’s like more spaces down below," she said, referencing the five underground levels of Thomas Cooper.
Roswurm thought spacing out the quiet and non-quiet levels would be a better way to distribute students.
"If you’re trying to do group work or something, and they’re out of room on all the talking floors and you go to the quiet floors and you’re just getting yelled at, that’s kind of pointless," she said.
Roswurm also suggested putting tables outside in order to more evenly disperse students.
Carroll had some helpful hints for students in the face of final exam week's crunch. He proposed students begin their preparation for the week of finals as early as possible to counterbalance the large amount of people that will be in and out of the library.
“If you have a textbook you need to rent, I wouldn’t wait to do it the night before,” he said.
He also suggested that students should always show up when they’re expected to for their rented study room. Ultimately, for Carroll, it comes down to student preparation.
“Start studying now, that’s what it all comes down to,” Carroll said.