While students through the years have sought out libraries as places for quiet learning, an increasing number of today’s young people use libraries for collaborative study sessions and instruction classes.
The sometimes confusing library protocols of where to be quiet and where to make noise – all in the name of learning – are explored in a series of student art installations called “Can You Hear Me Now?” They are on display from April 15 through May 14 in Vanderbilt University Libraries.
The participating students are enrolled in an art installation course taught by Mel Ziegler, professor and chair of the Department of Art. “This exhibit focuses on ideas such as learning, sound and compartmentalization in order to remind students to be conscious of their noise level,” Ziegler said. “This consciousness is not just about being too loud in ’quiet’ areas, but also to help students consider the use and noise level of ’group study’ areas as well.”
Comments from the 2009 LibQual+ survey, designed to measure library user perceptions of library service quality, sparked the interest of Connie Vinita Dowell, dean of libraries, and other staff members in having an art exhibit that addresses library noise issues. “One goal was to give our students the creative opportunity to be intellectually curious about the many ways we communicate and work together in various library areas,” Dowell said.
The installations can be viewed in the Central, Peabody, Anne Potter Wilson Music, and Sarah Shannon Stevenson Science and Engineering libraries on campus. An opening reception, which is free and open to the public, will be at 2:30 p.m. on April 15 in the Central Library’s Reading Room.
For more information, contact Professor Ziegler at mel.ziegler@vanderbilt.edu .
Media contact: Ann Marie Deer Owens, 615-322-NEWS
annmarie.owens@vanderbilt.edu