Seeking the sound of silence?

For some people, bustling crowds and noisy spaces are the stuff of nightmares.  If this is you, there are some simple tricks and tips to getting hold of everything you need and hiding away in the quiet recesses of the Library without ever having to contend with crowds.  Simply follow these simple tips:

Arrive before everyone else

It’s quiet in the Library before 10 am. Most students start arriving from 11 am onwards, so if you find all the books you want and make your way to the Individual Silent Study zone or find a cloistered corner and start using your noise cancelling earplugs before this, you should be fine.

The Library usually quietens down again in the early evening, from around 6 pm.

Pick up a portable silent zone

Sound cancelling earplugs are available for free from the Reception Desk. These earplugs effectively let you carry a silent zone in your pocket. We are trying to be sustainable, so please hang onto your pair and reuse them!

Enter the Individual Silent Zone

There is an Individual Silent Study Zone up on the second (top) floor, marked by purple banners.  Separated from the rest of the Library by doors on all sides, this area is quieter than anywhere else. You can still use earplugs in the silent zone to make it even quieter.

Take a laptop with you

If you need to use a laptop, you can borrow one with a charging cable from any of the lockers on the ground floor using your student card or bring your own device and plug it into the walls. If the noise level in the Individual Silent Study zone is still distracting you, earplugs are usually available from the Library Help Desk.  It helps us minimise our carbon footprint if we retain and re-use these again as much as possible.

Trouble in paradise?

If someone is making a noise or otherwise disturbing your study, please discreetly text our Security Team on 07860 756894. A member of security will come around and speak to anyone creating a nuisance. No one will be told who made the complaint.

Need anything else? Type us a message

You can chat with a librarian silently and in your own time by exchanging typed messages using our online chat service. There is no pressure to reply immediately, but if you prefer to spend a few minutes thinking about what you have been told before asking follow up questions, feel free to email us instead. You can find all the different ways you can get in touch on our How we can help page.

You can find all this information at any time on our Avoiding busy spaces page.