Audio by Dylan White
Kennedy Library opened its doors to the public more than seven weeks ago. Since then, Cal Poly students who enrolled in and after summer 2023 are experiencing a library on campus for the first time.
Costing the university nearly $80 million and disrupting the traditional college library study space, the renovation’s main achievements include more seating options, new study areas and upgraded technology. Additionally, the library expanded its 24-hour study hubs and added classrooms, along with switching Julian’s Cafe from the second to first floor.
Now halfway through the quarter, students have formed opinions on the new renovations and how they compare to their expectations.
“What I recognize is there’s not a lot of power outlets. It’s pretty hot in here. I’ve seen photos of it before, and, if anything, they’ve just updated the seating,” said business administration junior Yazmin Murillo.
Additionally, students feel there aren’t enough places to get food to nourish themselves while studying.
“I think there should be, like, a food place in here,” Angie Perkins, business administration junior, said. “I know there’s [Julian’s], but like a food one, because that one’s drinks.”
Before the renovation, most students knew that the library would be quieter on the higher floors. Now that many students using the library haven’t experienced this rule before, there’s a mix of expectations for the upper levels.
“It’s definitely word of mouth that you shouldn’t talk in there. I know most people didn’t know it got silent the more you went up,” Murillo said.
In the past two years, students had to find alternative study spaces that catered to their needs. Some students shared that they continue to prefer those spaces over the library.
“I really like the animal units. I like studying outside. I expected the library to have more outdoor study space because I heard that was one big feature that the library had,” animal science junior Iliana Miranda said. “When I started [attending Cal Poly], the library wasn’t open, so I didn’t really know what it looked like. So, I prefer the animal units or the lawn near OCOB. It’s pretty quiet.”
Miranda noted that, despite the library’s flaws, her productivity has increased since its reopening.
“Everybody around me is so productive in the library, and at the UU, you don’t really know what kind of people you’re going to get unless you’re in the silent room. That room is so small that most of the time you can’t find seating in there,” Miranda said. “It’s just really busy. But [in the library], although it’s fairly busy, everybody seems very locked in on school.”
This also seems to be the response of other students.
“I find myself studying much more frequently now that I have access to a good place to study at the library!” Zoe Goldstein, an English senior, said via email. “I was constantly having to travel across campus to a different space, or struggling with heat/cold while in a study tent or dealing with too much noise on the top floor of the UU.”
Though the library has had mixed reactions, it continues to be essential to students as a study space.