Date: 2/21/22
To: Dr. Vincent Boudreau
From: Guelimanuel Grullon, City College Student
Subject: Private Library Rooms
Problem
There has been one main issue ever since the reopening of City College. There has been an increase in online classes, and more people are using the private rooms in the college’s library (located on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th floors). In the morning, there are many rooms free, but during the afternoon hours, it’s quite hard trying to find a private room, especially since some students don’t use the private rooms to study or to take classes.
In inclusion, ever since the pandemic started, the study rooms located on the first floor (with the whiteboards and monitors) have been closed for student use ever since, other than certain clubs and other uses. They provide important study times for groups of students on campus, which is important, especially when waiting for another class that they might have in a couple of hours. More clubs can also happen with these rooms available, increasing overall activity inside of the college.
Potential Solutions
Although online classes are being diminished for more in-person classes, there still can be some things that can be done:
- In the 5th-floor private rooms, there are 10-15 rooms that have doors and that are out of commission, most likely for storage. It’ll be best if 2 or 3 of those rooms are used for storage, and the rest are used as private rooms for students
- Reopening the 1st-floor conference rooms through reservations or appointments only (let’s say for one-hour intervals). If a student reserves a room but does not show up, a warning can be set up, and for every subsequent offense either their pages for the semester get used up or there can be a stop for the student so that they can’t access their transcript.
- Repurpose some library space on different floors with some private rooms. There are a few areas that have cubicles or big areas that aren’t used as much. They can be remodeled as either simple private rooms with an integrated table and outlet, like the ones on the 3rd-5th floors, or they can be reserved as conference rooms to have students study or take classes together.
- Have additional private rooms elsewhere on the campus, such as unused classrooms, and potentially have an online app to check where there’s a free classroom, based on the CCNY schedules.
Thank you very much, and I hope to hear back from you soon
Guelimanuel Grullon
