As finals are upon us, students at Elgin Community College rely on study rooms to collaborate with others and prepare. But limited rooms throughout the building can impact students.

There are a total of 16 study rooms throughout ECC. Ten of them are in the library and six of them are in the A building. But to some people, including ECC librarian Stacey Shah, there still isn’t enough in the building.

“I think at busy points during the semester, particularly during midterms and finals, there just isn’t enough,” Shah said. “There are times that there are waiting lines for study rooms, and we just can’t have that.”

Shah said that ECC has been looking at the data of study rooms and when they are most popular.

“Around noonish is when it is the most busy, on Monday through Thursday,” Shah said. “Usually it is pretty heavy until about 6 p.m or 7 p.m, then it dies down a bit along with Fridays and Saturdays.”

ECC has been looking through data not just for students, but for future plans for the library.

“We have been looking at heat maps to see the busiest hours for study rooms,” Shah said. “Upper administration actually wants to open the study rooms to the general public, compared to now they’re just available to students.”

Shah and those a part of the library are very cautious about this change, because they know how important the study rooms are for students.

“We have a library advisory committee, and they tell us repeatedly how important study rooms are to them,” Shah said. “So librarians in particular, wanted to protect the rooms and ensure that we had them for students.”

Shah said that students have told her a multitude of reasons as to how study rooms specifically benefit them.

“Students have told me that they can focus better without having to worry about one of their friends coming up to them and saying hey,” Shah said. “To be contained in a space really makes a difference for a lot of students.”

Second-year ECC student, Janet Baeza, uses the study rooms in Building A and in the Library frequently. 

“I personally love using them because if I really need to focus, I know there will be no distractions,” Baeza said. “I also think they are great for groups because it gives you the space to share ideas.”

There are some differences between the study rooms in Building A and in the library.

“Unlike the library’s study rooms, they don’t require an ID nor do they have a time limit,” Baeza said. “You can also go to the bathroom without having to sign out the key.”

Baeza and Shah both talked about how people like the individual space more, as the privacy can be a big mental benefit while trying to study for something as big as a final exam.

They also both pointed out the white boards being major benefits to a study room, as opposed to a study space.

“The white boards are actually helpful, particularly in Building A if you are a Bio student,” Baeza said. “I’ve walked in there before and each corner of the white board had been filled with study material.”

To Shah, and all of the librarians, adding more study rooms could significantly help students.

“It has been 12 years since our Library has been redone, and I think creating more inviting study spaces could help students a whole lot,” Shah said.