Study Space Assistants: The Royal Holloway Experience

Abstract

Past experience has shown that the management of the library environment during the exam period has always been a challenging time of year at Royal Holloway University of London (RHUL). Various approaches have been piloted, but these have not been entirely successful for users or staff involved in this activity.

As at all institutions, during this very busy period study space is at a premium. Therefore, looking at different approaches to preventing the reserving of seats and the management of noise and behavioural issues is key to the success of maintaining a safe and secure environment conducive to study, learning and research.

In Spring/Summer 2012, following discussions with customer service colleagues, it was agreed that the best solution, budget permitting, would be to employ staff specifically to manage the exam period at Bedford Library, the bigger and busier of the two libraries at Royal Holloway. Further discussions were held with the library’s management team and a bid for additional funding was put forward and approved.

As this was a new role to RHUL, documentation for recruitment was quickly produced, along with the requirements of the role, activities and procedures. Two Study Space Assistants (SSAs) were appointed and in place from 23 April until 25 May 2012. Each worked a four-hour Monday – Friday shift.