A facebook group has been set up which questions the quality of service at the new library at Queen’s during the exam period. The group named, ‘Queen’s Library situation is a joke’, encourages QUB facebook users to air their grievances. The majority of the criticism appears to be in regard to the opening hours.
There are comments suggesting that a “sit-in” is being organised.
Facebook action groups are like online petitions. Absolutely useless with no merit whatsoever, basically a joke.
They are the lazy way of feigning interest in something, and no matter how many members you get to join or online signatures you accumulate the net result is that no action is ever taken.
If you do have concerns about the new Library and are prepared to actually do something about then make you concerns known to the VP of Education in the Union and the relevant parties in Queens in the form of a written letter.
I guarantee you you’ll do more with that one letter than 10,000 signatures or followers on a facebook page.
This is ridiculous! Exam time requires an extra effort to get out of bed in the morning. If students arrived at the library in the morning time as opposed to the rush hours of 1pm, 2pm, 3pm, they would have no bother in finding a seat or, better still, a computer. Any half decent student would make the effort to get to the library early, locate theirs books and find a desk.
Good to see Rage as xmas number 1 thanks to facebook.
Don’t under estimate the power of the media MAN!
YEO!!
So if all the students were making the effort to get up early, and go in as you suggest, wouldn’t it just bring the congestion issues forward a few hours?
is anyone aware that you can no longer access Facebook from the library computers??? I’ve been trying to access it all morning to moan about various things and it is not a blocked site, they are clearly trying to diffuse out outrage at the sub-par standards which the library is in
Helen…
Facebook is blocked in the library.
I think Facebook was always a blocked site along with Bebo and other social networking sites.
Wasn’t it recently that people were complaining of a lack of available computers in the Library?
I don’t think the Library staff are trying to diffuse out anything. The Library(quite rightly)want students to use the PC’s for academic work and not for browsing on social media sites.
The alternative is that students who have legitimate need for a computer will be unable to use one due to other students posting their bored status on Facebook.
Helen, if you bothered to read the page which appears when you try to access Facebook, you will see that it is blocked between the hours of 9 and 5.
I’ve now completed two all-nighters in the library since the announcement of the longer opening hours, and between 2am-7am the place could not have had more than 15 students (with at least 5 staff to supervise/clean.)
A total waste of time and money, and a depressing illustration of the decline/ near total absence of student engagement with any sort of meaningful political/union activism.
The Union actually did commendable representative work this time in securing longer hours (apparently the wish of students) but once again exposed a deeper, more troubling deficiency: that this exec has almost literally no tangible ideas, beliefs, interests or political awareness. Instead, it’s an institutionally insecure conduit for the apathy and occasional quixotic demands of a detached student body.
I’m just sick of this consumerist, spoilt-kid “I can’t find a computer right now, therefore I must have access to a computer” rubbish.
Unreasonable, childish, short-termist bitching. How about the fees situation? or Labour (LABOUR, and BEFORE an election) announcing a further 2.5bn in university funding cuts? The near-collapse of a morally bankrupt, unrepresentative form of clueless tribal government IN THIS CITY? Of course, barely anyone gives a shite. Ridiculous.
There there Grandad, you’ve had your walk now lets get you home and I’ll get your slippers for you.
“I’ve now completed two all-nighters in the library since the announcement of the longer opening hours, and between 2am-7am the place could not have had more than 15 students (with at least 5 staff to supervise/clean.)”
Firstly, your blue peter badge is in the post for your completion of not ONE but TWO all-nighters. You are an inspiration to us all.
Secondly. Why did you find it surprising that not many people are willing, or even find it productive to work during those hours?
M is completely right. My experiences are the exact same as his and I’ve done 4 all nighters in the last 2 weeks.
And as far as Anon goes, was that not what this entire argument was about? That the ‘opening hours were a joke?’ I think Queens had more than enough computers provided and people just fancied a moan and had a go whenever they really didn’t know what they were talking about.
I think a lot of people were also just annoyed at the fact that they couldn’t arse around with the layout of the new library like they could in the Seamus Heaney, a building a lot of people genuinely liked. I seen plenty of people last year drunk and just in for a carry-on and you could not get away with that in the new library with the layout.
Whole fuss over nothing.