Aaron Stanfield
Cal Poly Pomona offers a plethora of resources for students who are looking to extend their educational careers. One of these resources stands in the middle of campus, the Cal Poly Pomona Library. Standing six stories tall, the library is the central hub of offering different types of environments to do homework and group projects. I have utilized it quite a bit during my stay at the institution. That being said, I do have both positive and n
egative opinions of the library.
Let me begin with the positive opinions. I do appreciate the design of the library and how each level has its own layout specifically geared towards the type of work a student may find themselves participating in. Delving into the design, the information desk is right in front of the main entrance, making it highly convenient for students or visitors to gather answers to their questions right away. Next, there is an escalator that takes students and visitors up to the second floor, which is the actual start of the library. There are tons of computers and a couple of printers where students can access their classes through Canvas or print out hard copies of their homework and readings if a professor instructs them to do so.
The third and fourth floors are where most of the main collection of books reside with many desks where students can individually work on their classwork. I do enjoy the amount of desks on both floors as I have always been able to find a seat to begin working as fast as possible. Going upwards, the fifth floor is considered the “Quiet Floor.” This is the floor I use the most whenever I go to the library because of the mostly quiet nature. There are hardly any sounds on this floor since there are not many people who go to the fifth floor. It is an almost perfect place if someone does not like much interference from outside noises when either reading or doing critical thinking assignments. I have not been on the sixth floor at the time of this writing, but I imagine it is much like the fifth floor.
All of the floors, except the first floor, have group study rooms that offer a place for students to meet with their classmates to work on projects for their classes. I do appreciate the institution offering a place such as these rooms for groups who do not feel comfortable meeting outside campus to work on their projects. It also made me feel safer to meet with other people inside these rooms to work on group projects since nearly all students are fully vaccinated. There is no need to feel too worried about the pandemic since I was surrounded by students who are vaccinated both inside the group rooms and outside in the library.
However, no place is ever the perfect place, and the Cal Poly Pomona Library is no different. As much as I love the convenience of a place designed to make me do my homework, I noticed a couple of things that occur from time to time that are some drawbacks. While I discussed how I liked the second floor having printers earlier, there are only a few of them. I have not used the printers since Pre-COVID, but I remember seeing about three on the entire second floor. Given the library does get packed around the afternoon time, when most students have breaks from their classes to do homework, I think Cal Poly should install a couple of more printers to make less traffic around the printers. Installing more printers would also decrease the wait time so students can have more time to do other productive activities. Also, students can maintain social distancing by having less crowding around each printer.
Another common problem in the library is the poor soundproofing. The study rooms could use better equipment so people outside cannot hear the noises that emanate from them. There were times when I was doing homework on the fourth floor and could hear loud noises coming from the study rooms. If soundproof panels were installed, this would easily get rid of the problem. The last complaint is in regards to the poor management to maintain a constant quiet environment on the fifth floor. While the fifth floor is quiet most of the time, there are occasional people who are not courteous to the quiet rule. They either talk loudly or are plain obnoxious when shuffling around in their seats. What could alleviate this issue is placing staff on the fifth floor to remind the more rowdy individuals to keep quiet in order to make this space more peaceful. It is not an ongoing problem that happens constantly, but considering it is called the “Quiet Floor,” it should be silent for students who prefer to work in peace.
Overall, I love the Cal Poly Pomona Library. I honestly think it is the best place to do homework and group projects because it is very convenient for the multitude of reasons pointed out in this article. While I do have a few minor issues, the library is still a beneficial space to visit. I recommend it for students who are looking for a place that can offer services to satisfy all of their classwork needs. ___________
Photo credit: Tom Zasadzinski
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