Reserving rooms and workstations in university libraries was a popular option during the COVID-19 health crisis. The government obliged all French libraries to equip themselves with an online reservation system for their seats, in order to respect social distancing and limit the spread of the virus. However, pandemic or not, the value of booking software remains indispensable for a variety of reasons, which we'll cover in this article!
This is all the more true as the term "Smart Campus" emerges more and more in the world of the university sector. Indeed, the profile of university students has changed drastically over the last few years: digital natives, they want increased connectivity and a more intuitive experience at university and therefore in the library. Universities must therefore adapt to offer increasingly intelligent, interactive and interconnected services. An online booking solution is just one of the ways in which you can be part of this "Smart Campus" project!
What's the point of having library booking software?
For your students
By booking your spaces online, your students will be informed of their availability before they arrive, as they will be able to see which spaces or rooms are already booked. This means they won't have to travel unnecessarily if all the spaces are already occupied. Thanks to this reservation system, long queues (in front of a room or at reception to reserve it) will disappear, much to the delight of students and library staff!
Finally, the safety of students will be guaranteed in the event of an incident or health crisis, thanks to real-time monitoring. Staff will be able to indicate the precise number of students present at any given time, so that they can pass it on to the emergency services in the event of an evacuation, for example. In addition, in the event of a pandemic, alerts can be automatically triggered if the number of students exceeds a certain threshold, in order to maintain social distance.
For you libraries
Library booking software will make life easier for librarians: you'll be able to manage your library with much greater peace of mind, since students will be completely autonomous when it comes to reserving spaces, which will save you precious time!
Thanks to the control and exploitation of attendance indicators, you will be able to better understand the use of spaces and resources within your library and therefore better understand student behaviour in general! You will have access to a detailed schedule of reservations made and therefore to the availability of remaining resources.
Is one workroom used more than another? On a particular day or at a particular time? These are just some of the questions you'll be able to answer thanks to our online booking system.
Finally, you'll be able to smooth out your flows over the course of the day, as bookings will be spread out more evenly over time! Students will be able to see in real time which slots are occupied and which are available, so they can choose the one that suits them best. So you're improving their experience and satisfaction thanks to better reception conditions: the first step towards an intelligent campus!
For what uses?
When it comes to choosing your booking software, you can choose between software that specialises in booking rooms or seats, or in making appointments. There are also software packages, such as Affluences, that can cover all the above uses. Before making your decision, it's a good idea to take stock of the features required for each use case!
Study rooms booking
Objective: Offer your students the possibility of reserving your work rooms, carrels and cubicles online.
Benefits: If your library lacks group work spaces and/or they are spread over many floors, setting up a booking system will enable you to better distribute your student flows and optimise their management.
This is the case for one of the university libraries of the Université Jean Moulin de Lyon, which has been able to solve the problem of its workspaces thanks to the Affluences reservation software. The implementation of this software has improved the management of flows, as well as the experience of students, in particular thanks to the disappearance of interminable queues at reception to reserve a workroom.
Recommended features: In order to adapt to the new system, consider freeing up your work rooms by validating the presence of users. This feature will give you better control over the actual presence of students when they book and optimise the booking of rooms if a student is absent. If the student has not validated their presence after the validation deadline has passed, their booking will be automatically cancelled and the room will become available for booking again. There are various validation methods: manual, QRcode scan, etc.
Can the software you are using restrict bookings to email addresses with your university's domain name? This is an essential feature for restricting room bookings to your students.
Seat reservations
Objective: Offer your students the possibility of reserving predefined seats online.
Advantage: As well as providing students with the comfort of choosing their place of work (with or without a computer, next to the window or opposite specific documentary resources, etc.), opting for a seat reservation system means you can deal with difficult health conditions such as we have experienced in recent years. Social distancing is guaranteed and the spread of viruses is limited thanks to the punctual tracking of students.
Recommended features: This type of use requires you to number or identify your seats easily from the back office so that they can be made available to your students.
Have you thought about including a map of your library with the seats in question on the booking interface? This will save students having to go from one floor of the library to another in search of a reserved seat. They will know directly where to go when they arrive at the university.
As with room reservations, validation of attendance is essential to avoid the risk of students being turned away!
Booking equipment or materials
Objective: Give your students the opportunity to borrow equipment such as computers, tablets, cables, video equipment, etc. and manage their use as effectively as possible.
Advantage: Setting up a reservation system for your equipment or materials will enable you to optimise their management, particularly for those items that are most in demand! You'll also reduce the risk of loss or theft, as each reservation will be tracked.
Recommended features: If you use the reservation software for this purpose, make sure that it allows you to set usage quotas. These will allow all students to borrow the resources in question on an equitable basis.
Booking events, activities and appointments
Objective: Simplify the management of events, activities and appointments with online booking
Advantage: Opening up your one-off events and appointments to booking will save you a considerable amount of time in managing them. What's more, if you know exactly how many people will be attending, you can plan precisely for all the resources you need to ensure your event runs smoothly: the size of the room, the amount of equipment, the staff you need to deploy, etc. You'll have a clear view of the planning for each event, which will make your organisation a whole lot easier!
Recommended features: Needless to say, it's essential for several people to be able to book the same slot. So make sure that the software you want to use allows you to do this. It's also important to be able to easily customise the number of seats you make available.
In general, pay attention to the configuration interface for your activities and appointments. A user-friendly interface will enable you to be much more efficient on a daily basis, especially if you offer a large number of events or one-off activities.
Do you want to go one step further in managing your student flows? Installing a people counting system in your library is the solution! This system is capable of measuring attendance in real time and forecasting the future. Analysing these attendance figures, in addition to those linked to bookings, will enable you to optimise your student flows even further!