Polk Library is full of ideal rooms, nooks and crannies for study groups to gather. But the building’s features can also pose a bit of a challenge for students looking to quickly coordinate a meeting. Not only do they have to find a time and location for all the group members to meet, but, when plans are set, they have to physically track one another down.
Enter “GroupFinder” to make the job a little easier.
The online study-group booking system collaboratively created by Polk staff and students is intended to help UW Oshkosh students more readily schedule study sessions and meet up with each other to work in groups at the library. It debuted this fall and can be found on the Polk Library website.
Joshua Ranger, UW Oshkosh archivist, said the system was developed because staff would see students struggling to find each other efficiently when meeting for projects.
“We saw students would leave each other notes on whiteboards in the library that would say ‘Chemistry study group’ with an arrow,” Ranger said.
GroupFinder allows students to log in using their student ID and create a study group. Students can then name their group, reserve either a table or room and invite members to join.
There are four tables and two rooms to choose from throughout the library. The small group room holds up to six students, and the large group room is designed for up to 15. Pictures are also available to view online so students can get a better idea of what option would be appropriate for their needs.
A mobile version of the program is offered as well so that students can check where and when their group will be meeting from their cell phones.
The idea was conceived by the library staff after seeing the obvious need for an improvement in meeting methods. Student Titan Employment Program intern David Hietpas was in charge of the development.
Ranger said the project has been an important development for the library because it has been able to create an immediately useful tool for nearly no cost to the university. He added that the benefit has actually been even greater for Hietpas.
“We were so impressed by David that we hired him on as an LTE to help with creating the library’s new website,” Ranger said.
He said the hope is that students will realize the benefits of this new tool and begin to incorporate it into their regular study routines.
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