Charles Library — Attraction in Philadelphia

It's a step up from the old Paley library, but the old library did not even have a sufficient number of outlets, so the bar was set pretty low. The new and shiny Charles library does not have a good, sensible design for studying and researching. Where are the computers/computer labs? I could not find a computer to work on. There was just one that was functional and it was occupied. There is a sprinkle of others, here and there, which is incomprehensible to me given that this is the main library of a major research institution. There are no more stacks except for on the fourth floor, so plenty of space to place computers. The Duckworth Scholars Studio computers are reserved for only students doing digital humanities. Temple could have, and should have, invested in more computers. You are allowed to borrow a Dell laptop for a few hours, that's it. Why does every floor look the same? There are tables and chairs, all the same type on every floor, without regard for different learning needs and forms of studying/researching. Was everything just bought at IKEA and plopped into place? What if a student needs/prefers a different type of desk or chair for their work? Also, why are the chairs so darn small? They remind me of chairs that you see stacked up for kids in kindergartens: small, plastic, colorful, and tolerable only for short periods of time. Why can you only book the study rooms for 2 hours a day? Even in the summer time, when there's no one there and the rooms are not booked by anyone else? I need more than 2 hours to do my work. The graduate/faculty lounge is just a big room with a bunch of desks and chairs, no computers or study rooms. Why can't graduate students either have their own study rooms, reserve the general study rooms for more time or, at least, have carrels they can rent for the semester? So far, I have mostly used this space as a nicely air-conditioned building where I...

I'll be honest, It took a bit but the new library is starting to grow on me. Yes it still does need some improvements like more comfy furniture, more printers and the small floor space on floors 2 and 3 (which is why I gave 4 stars and not 5) but let's be real, it's definitely a big improvement over Paley. I can understand why a lot of students and faculty are nostalgic over Paley, but it was musty, old, uncomfortable and the desktops barely worked.

While it may seem like there's not that many places to study, the main purpose of the 4rth floor is just for that. I'm certain that there's more desk/table space and chairs on Charles' 4rth floor than all that Paley had including a ton of private study rooms. And the 4rth floor of Charles' still has that classic library feel with rows and rows of books, so at least automation has spared us a little. I honestly don't even go on the bottom three floors much anymore except for tutoring and advising sessions at the Student Success center. the quiet reading room in particular which is at the back of the 4rth floor is pretty great with warm lighting and a nice ambience. As for desktops, I can understand why they didn't set up that many. I go to the library to get away from all the bright lights and glaring screens at the Tech Center and so I can actually have some table space to spread out in. It makes sense that Temple higher ups made the decision that those who wanted to do desktop computer work should go to tech while those who wanted to do other things could go to Charles.

Overall while Charles Library is still in need of some improvements, it has been getting a lot of undeserved flack largely because it's new, different and people are...

This is not an inviting library. A granite, ugly, dark building in the middle of a campus, with lots of unusable and wasted space, not even mentioning “wasted wood”.

I walked upstairs to navigate around. It is not possible to find the group study rooms and/or breakout rooms.

The university administration did not seek any student opinion before erecting this “hideous monument of mismanagement and ugliness”.

When you are designing a product or service, you need to ask the need of the end user and listen to “voice of the customer”. In my logic, college students should not be considered as “customers”. In the end of the day, student is the end user, and in this library, students are clearly disregarded, as you can see from lots of negative reviews.

I didn’t view it as a collaborative space. Tech Center’s breakout rooms are much better for collaboration and group study.

When I first glanced at the building, I felt like Temple “wasted a ton of money” on “another failed project”. As I entered inside this beast, I looked around to explore around and I hated it more.

The letter grade I give to this design disaster is an F. It’s not even...