The Family Study Room opened in the Library in September 2021.
Aims of the room
The Family Study Room has been created by the Library as a new space on Level 3.
Its purpose is to provide a dedicated area for the sole use of those customers requiring a safe working environment to study on their own or work on group assignments alongside their peers, whilst also having the need to supervise a child. The room is protected for this specific purpose and is not intended for use by customers unaccompanied by children, unless working in a group where one of them has a child with them. We trust that this rule will support those customers who previously have found it difficult to meet their individual and group study commitments due to their childcare responsibilities.
Customer feedback and monitoring of any issues that may arise in that time will continue to inform the policy for managing this space. Some details below may, therefore, be subject to change at a later stage.
Policy
A child is defined as being between the ages of 0 –12 years (baby, toddler or primary school age).
Each solo user or, if an assignment group, at least one member of the group must have a child with them – users who do not have a child associated with them/the group cannot use this room and will be asked to leave
You must not bring your child if they have been told to self-isolate from school due to Covid or are showing symptoms of any other transmissible illness.
If the above key criteria can be met, users do not currently need to book use of this room – we would like to make access as simple as possible and are working on the assumption that bringing your child to the Library, while you study, will often be due to an unexpected childcare emergency which you need to respond to at short notice. Please note that we are anticipating that this new facility will be able to meet demand but introduction of a requirement to pre-book a space may be considered at a later stage.
The child/children must be supervised at all times. They should not be left unattended at any time.
Babies’ nappies should not be changed within this space – the closest baby changing facilities are available in the accessible gender-neutral toilet opposite the enquiry desk on level 3, with additional facilities in the accessible gender-neutral toilet on level 2. Room CU417 on Level 4 does have a mobile baby change unit, but not a sink. Please ask any member of staff for directions.
Customers can breastfeed or bottlefeed within the Family Study Room and anywhere in the Library where we may occasionally and in certain circumstances allow access for children. However, if more privacy is preferred for feeding, Room CU 417 on level 4 can be used as an alternative. This room is already designated as a campus space for this purpose– ask any member of staff for directions. This room also functions as the emergency medical room for the Library – please knock before entering in case we already have a customer or member of staff within.
Check the Family Study Room before leaving to ensure the young ones have not left any precious toys, or that any belongings have been forgotten.
Although this Family Study Room is within the group study area, please be considerate and try to keep any noise within reasonable levels. The room is not sound-proofed. If your child becomes very upset/noisy we expect that you will leave the room temporarily, particularly if other users are trying to work within this space. You can of course return when your child is more settled.
Our preference is to always use the designated Family Study Room when children visit. We anticipate it will be sufficient for the demand. However, if the room is full and being used by those who meet the criteria, we will on occasion allow customers with children to work on Level 2 – this will depend on the time of year and other conditions in place. Our general policy is not to allow children on other floors of the Library due to health and safety concerns, possible disruption to other users and high demand on our seating capacity at key points of the academic year. We cannot therefore guarantee that this child friendly work facility will always be available within the library when you arrive. Please ask at the library enquiry desk or turnstile if you arrive in the library with your child and cannot find a space in this room. We will use this feedback to inform our future approaches.
Please do not leave any items in the room to reserve a seat when you are not actively in the room using it.
To avoid blocking the nearby fire exit door and access to the emergency staircase, pushchairs must not be stored immediately outside the room. There is some space within the study room to store these items.
Room facilities:
- one low circular table with five small chairs, suitable for small children
- one adult height circular table and one adult height rectangular table, each able to accommodate four people working as a group/solo (depending on COVID control allowances at the time)
- Digital screens to support group/solo work file sharing
- a small selection of children’s colouring sheets (please bring your own colouring pencils and observe the usual safety measures to manage the risk of smaller objects being used by young children)
- space for pushchair/baby carrier