Reducing noise in the academic library: the effectiveness of installing noise meters
| Published date | 21 March 2016 |
| Pages | 45-63 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-04-2015-0034 |
| Date | 21 March 2016 |
| Author | Jessica Lange,Andrea Miller-Nesbitt,Sarah Severson |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library technology |
Reducing noise in the academic
library: the effectiveness of
installing noise meters
Jessica Lange, Andrea Miller-Nesbitt and Sarah Severson
McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of an electronic noise-monitoring device
(NoiseSign) at reducing noise levels in quiet study areas in an academic library.
Design/methodology/approach –Surveys and decibel-level measurements were used to measure
the perceived and objective noise levels, respectively, in both an intervention and a control area of two
major branch libraries. Patrons’perception of noise was measured with a passive paper and online
survey, which asked patrons to rate the current noise level and their desired noise level. The actual
noise measurements were collected twice a day with a hand-held decibel reader for 60 seconds and then
corroborated after the intervention with automatically logged decibel readings from the noise monitor
device in the two intervention areas. The authors conducted one-way ANOVA’s to determine if the
results were significant.
Findings –The NoiseSign had no statistically significant effect on either actual noise levels or user
perceptions of noise in the library. The surveys comments and anecdotal observation of the spaces
while doing measurements did reveal that noise in the quiet study areas was not the primary source
of complaints.
Originality/value –In spite of many proposed solutions to reducing noise in libraries, there has been
very little research in this area. This is the first study to examine the effectiveness of using a
noise-monitoring device in reducing noise levels at an academic library.
Keywords Evaluation, University libraries, Academic libraries, Surveys, Space planning,
Library buildings
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Noise in libraries is a constant source of concern for library users and adminis trators.
This survey reports on the installation of a noise-monitoring sign at McGill University,
a large university located in Montreal, Canada. Comments received from LibQUAL as
well as from additional user surveys demonstrated that noise was a problem for McGill
University Library in its individual study spaces. The matter of noise in the library
became particularly pressing when a recent survey at our institution revealed tha t our
users’primary purpose in using the library was individual study. McGill University
Library had already employed noise-reduction strategies such as designating official
quiet zones and purchasing appropriate quiet study furniture, such as carrels; however,
it was clear from user comments that these changes were not sufficient.
Literature suggests that students adhere more to quiet policies when there is an
authority figure or a monitoring presence in the area (Bedwell and Banks, 2013; Bird
and Puglisi, 1984). The monitoring figure need not necessarily be a staff member; in
their article on library design, Foster and Gibbons (2007) found that students “taught”
each other the sometimes implicit rules about the spaces they were in “through an
occasional verbal warning”or gave them “the stare”or glare that communicates
“be quiet!”. However, given budgetary concerns and current staffing levels, McGill
University Library could not request staff to patrol quiet areas nor hire security guards
Library Hi Tech
Vol. 34 No. 1, 2016
pp. 45-63
©Emerald Group Publis hing Limited
0737-8831
DOI 10.1108/LHT-04-2015-0034
Received 4 April 2015
Revised 5 October 2015
Accepted 6 October 2015
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0737-8831.htm
45
Reducing
noise in the
academic
library
in that capacity. Also, relying on student self-monitoring would be unreliable.
In the absence of a human monitoring figure, it was posited that an electronic
noise-monitoring device (NoiseSign) would have the same effect.
NoiseSign (Plate 1) is a wall-mounted device that lights up to provide immediate
visual feedback when the noise level in a designated area gets too loud. Although no
literature currently exists on the NoiseSign or similar devices in libraries, there is
research related to visual feedback devices and speeding in transport ation literature.
This research indicates that drivers reduce their speed in the presence of speed
feedback signs (Bloch, 1998; Gehlert et al., 2012; Santiago-Chaparro et al., 2012). Both
the NoiseSign and speed feedback signs provide immediate visual information with
regards to “negative”behavior. As demonstrated in transportation literature, drivers
modify their behavior by reducing their driving speed. Thus we hypothesized that the
NoiseSign would provide the feedback necessary for patrons to modify their behavior
and reduce noise-making activities. This study aims to determine the effectiveness of
the NoiseSign in reducing noise levels in an academic library.
Literature review
Noise is one of the most common complaints library administrators hear from
students. In their survey on cell phone policies in academic libraries, Heaton and
Master discovered that 74 percent of respondents considered noise to be a problem at
their institutions (Heaton and Master, 2007). Additionally, Yelinek and Bressler
observed, “Over the past several years, [the authors] have witnessed a general rise in
noise level at their library. This trend was confirmed by comments received during
LibQUAL surveys administered at their library [Bloomsburg University of
Pennsylvania] in 2006 and 2009. In both surveys, noise was one of the top issues
raised by students who sought a quieter place to study”(Yelinek and Bressler, 2013).
Franks and Asher (2014) confirm that “University libraries have had to provide
acceptable noise levels for many years and this pressure has not diminished in the
twenty-first century.”The likely cause is the competing space needs of today’s
Plate 1.
NoiseSign installed
in the Humanities
and Social Sciences
Library
46
LHT
34,1
To continue reading
Request your trial