The less neurotic students at the Sandy Bay campus may not have noticed how absurdly warm the Morris Miller Library often is, or the fact that the toilet doors squeak really loudly or that you’ll rarely find a table that you don’t have to share with a loud-breathing phlegm machine or a Lady Gaga fan who apparently can’t hear a tune unless it’s played at concert volume. 

But even the blind would’ve noticed the huge white wall that currently blocks off half of the second floor and greets all arrivals with the words “SSHHH... construction in progress... builders at work”.

The irony of this (and yes, it’s very amusing) is that constant quiet time is the last thing Morris Miller dwellers should be expecting during the oncoming redevelopment period. 

We can already hear the sound of drills and tractors from the work being done in the ‘central mall’ area which has been explained via emails and signs on campus, but we’ve been given very little information – or warning – about the plans for the library. 

Well seeing as Morris Miller was originally built for a student population of 2000 and now serves a population of 12, 000, it’s not surprising that fresh air and a quiet corner are so hard to find there. 

The plan, then, is to have that blocked off space on level 2 totally stripped out and refitted with more study spaces and a redeveloped section for the Reference and Reserve collections, and to have all levels of the library equipped with improved wireless access for laptops. 

The toilets will also be fixed because apparently the doors aren’t the only thing that fall below standards and after the renovations students are likely to have 24/7 access to the Learning Hubs on Levels 2 and 3 - so we can be at uni, literally, all the time!

But why didn’t the bastards get this done over the summer when it would’ve been less disruptive and presumably more logical? 

Project Manager, Craig Pridmore explains that aside from complicated funding issues that have taken a number of years to sort out, the $2.5 million dollar project is a longer process than a lot of people might have expected.

However, Pridmore reassures that there are alternative study environments that have been developed through the refurbishment of the Science Library and the Law Library to coincide with loss of some of the MML study space during the project.

Although we’ve been told that the central mall redevelopments are expected to take four to five months, the library – a separate project – may take up to eight! So if you’re in the final year of your degree, then, sorry!

But if you’re planning to stick around for a few more then you’ve got something to look forward to. So next time you’re doing your history homework to the musical sound of drills and jackhammers, remind yourself: one day it’ll be clean and quiet and you’ll be able to find a study spot without working up a furious sweat! Well, I’m excited.

By Ella MacGregor