The renovation project of the library at the Communication University of China, originally scheduled to commence in July and be completed by October, has been delayed by over ten days, causing inconvenience to students preparing for graduate entrance exams. Students are facing challenges in their study environment due to noisy dormitories and insufficient sockets in the study rooms.
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In the days when there is no library, thousands of students preparing for the the Unified National Graduate Entrance Examination drift around the campus like duckweeds, looking for a suitable place to study.
The renovation of the library
Renovation on the Library of Communication University of China began in July, and will wrap up Thursday. That's more than twelve days later than expected.
“Before the renovation, the school conducted extensive research. The reconstructed library has effectively improved the problems of insufficient lighting, electrical sockets and seating, which have puzzled students since the library was built,” said Cao Haixia, the director of the library's space construction department.
Additionally, the library also has added discussion rooms, audio-visual rooms and other special spaces to meet students' diverse needs.
However, such an exciting project has troubled many people.
The three months that the library was closed for construction was a critical time for students studying for the Unified National Graduate Entrance Examination. Self-study in the quiet and spacious library is their first choice.
“It is because the school has a library that I choose to go back to school, otherwise I will prepare for the exam at home,” said Chen Xu, who was preparing for the master degree in journalism.
The closure of the library has left students like Chen at a loss. They can only find other places on campus for self-study, but these places are not satisfactory.
Noisy dormitory
When the library is unavailable, many students choose the nearest place, the dormitory, to study. However, people find that the transfer of learning places is accompanied by increasing laziness. It's too hard to concentrate and maintain self-control there.
“Some people are playing games and others are chatting. In this atmosphere, it is difficult for me to have the will spirit to learn,” said Chen.
More than that, the noisy environment outside the dormitory makes it more difficult to become a good learning place. Every evening, many students will gather in the public space of the apartment to eat, chat and exercise. Chen said she could often hear the laughter outside the door in her dormitory and it distracted her.
Hu Zhifei, a senior student, recently had to study in a self-study classroom full of people. “Although there are free seats in the classroom, I feel uncomfortable because of the close social distance,” she said.
The problem of insufficient electrical sockets in the classroom has also troubled many students. Nowadays, laptops and tablets have become important learning tools. But on average, there are only five sockets available in each self-study classroom.
“Sometimes in order to use the sockets, I have to go to the self-study room very early. When there are many people, I even have to sit on the platform to use the sockets,”Cao Rui, a student preparing for the computer master's exam, said.
Even in the classroom, students are often disturbed. Due to the curriculum arrangement, most self-study classrooms cannot be guaranteed to be available all day.
Under-supplied classrooms
“Considering the demand for self-study, we opened more classroom in the teaching building without class arrangement as a self-study room,” Cao said.
However, the number of remaining classrooms every day is very limited.
“Many times when I just entered the learning state, teachers and classmates poured in to prepare for class,”Chen said. She moves around the teaching building almost every day, like a vagrant.
Waiting anxiously
There are less than two months left before the Unified National Graduate Entrance Examination. These days, Chen and her friends are very anxious. Since 2015, the number of people taking this examination has increased rapidly from 1.65 million to 4.57 million.
“It makes me feel exhausted to waste time looking for places to study every day,”Chen said. The reconstruction of the library was originally planned to be completed on Oct. 8. However, the various factors led to the delay of the completion.
To this day, Chen Xu is still studying in a crowded classroom and endorsing in a noisy corridor. Like her, there are many other students who are still waiting for the day when the library reopens.
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