Since last summer, you have been able to reserve group study rooms online in our branch libraries. After the pilot project went well, we expanded the service to individual study desks – in the Branch Library Sport & Health Sciences from the end of October 2023 and in the Branch Library Main Campus from mid-January 2024.
In the first six weeks after launching at the main campus, more than 60,000 reservations were made through the system.
Petitions, Problems, and Pitfalls
The second phase of the project proved to be a real challenge: a mix of technical issues, suboptimal usability, and unpopular reservation rules led to some frustration among students and the library team.
In this situation, your feedback and criticism were more than helpful. A big thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in our survey and share their suggestions for improvement with us. We learned a lot from it!
Potentials and Perspectives
The approximately 1,800 feedback responses helped us to better tailor the reservation system to your needs. For example, we have increased the maximum booking duration to eight hours. Together with the system provider, we are currently working on further optimizations, including visibility of available seats, occupancy rates of reservation slots, and more flexibility through hourly quotas.
In the meantime, 67 percent of survey participants favor the reservation system. They appreciate the convenience of being able to book a learning space in advance and not risking making the trip to the library in vain. Especially during stressful exam times, the reservation system ensures more fairness in distributing the coveted learning spaces.
Starting 15 May 2024, we will introduce the reservation system in our other branch libraries. For those who prefer the old principle of "first come, first served," two-thirds of our learning spaces will remain available without reservation.
Further Information
Reserve Study Desks
Reserve Group Rooms
Carrel Requests
