There is a shortage of space in the study reading rooms. Every winter, students who queue in long lines to enter the library remind us of this - hoping that there is still a corner left for them to spend the day and prepare for their upcoming exams in peace. Students' voices have been heard at the University of Ljubljana's Central Technical Library (CTL) - we are pleased to announce that we have provided an additional reading room, where 36 new chairs have been installed. To this end, we have knocked down the walls of the offices and created a new large room that allows students to more space for learning. In total, CTK now has more than 230 places.
»The new reading places are a response to student initiatives to increase the number of reading places. This is what I think is most important in this story and shows the importance of a continuous dialogue between users and the library. I would like to stress that CTK's response with the new reading spaces is only part of a broader response by various responsible stakeholders: the University of Ljubljana, NUK and others. By the way, according to our information, even Cankarjev dom has opened a study reading room. All this shows how it is important for students and other users to express their needs. We want to strengthen and nurture this dialogue in the future. Community management of the library, the opportunity for users (in this case students) to co-create our programmes and a mutual understanding of how the library works is a recipe for improvement. We want to offer students more than chairs and tables. It is therefore crucial that this dialogue also takes place when managing our other services: the Creative Commons, the Library of Things or when acquiring new information resources.« commented on the opening of the new reading room. Miro Pušnik, Director of the Central Technical Library of the University of Ljubljana.
Study reading rooms are an important part of the educational process, providing students with a suitable space for quality study and exam preparation. Many people need peace, quiet, a break from the daily routine or the presence of peers who are also studying to fulfil their potential and master the material in order to study effectively and in a focused way. Many students do not have this opportunity at home, and it is libraries that need to provide such a space.
»The problem of the shortage of reading places is closely linked to the housing crisis. Because students have nowhere to live, we also have nowhere to study. So we are forced to study in overcrowded, noisy or outdated rooms, which contributes to lower grades and impoverished studies. Existing reading places are in many places outdated, too small and poorly equipped. In Ljubljana, the ratio of reading places to students is about 1 to 10. However, the situation is slowly improving, with the opening of a new reading room at the Central Technical Library of the University of Ljubljana, which is welcomed by the Iskra Society. The CTK is open until midnight and is a great help to students, even on Sundays during the exam period. Their range of loan instruments to facilitate the learning of science and technology students is a welcome addition. They are a library that listens to students« wishes and follows its mission," have responded to the opening from Iskra Student Association.
CTK offers the possibility to use study reading places open every weekday until midnight, also open until midnight on selected weekends (Saturday and Sunday) during the examination periods. CTK operates according to the concept of community library management, which puts users (students, researchers and other visitors) at the centre of its activities, which means that library users have the opportunity to co-create the library's programmes and policies.
The new reading room is equipped with a photographic exhibition, where the author of the photographs immortalised the activities of library visitors. »The series of photographs capturing the visitors of the Central Technical Library of the University of Ljubljana has been several years in the making and represents my personal view of the library, which is mostly frequented by students and where they spend most of their time. I captured moments during the exam period as well as relaxing over coffee, talking with friends and playing board games. The exhibition “Visitors” is shot in black and white and thus shows a sense of timelessness.« the photographer described his work Gašper Lešnik.
