Library Mapping/Item Suggestions

Hello everyone! I have a few minor suggestions for the library, as I've come to love the role and the RP potential of it. I understand it's an underutilized space, and I'm hoping to slowly change that IC (Still, I understand why changing the library wouldn't exactly a priority project). I am not sure how difficult these are, but the stickied thread for minor map changes said to make my own if I used more than a few lines, so here we are. I apologize if something has been considered before or isn't possible.

Librarian's Study:

-It's kind of a mess at the start. A storage locker or similar container would be nice, and having some of the desk mess (Red suit, EFTPOS, etc) start in there would be appreciated. It could go where the disposal is, and move the disposal to the lower leftmost empty space (And perhaps then move the intercom one space to the left) There just isn't enough surface space to comfortably fit all these items + Any other items that a librarian might want to keep in their private office.

-A spare bookbag would also be appreciated- I'm not sure if it's a bug or intentional, but when joining late from arrivals, you do not get a bookbag (You do, however, if you start from Cryo).

Library:

-A folder or two to start would be nice; I can think of several RP uses for them. Seems like something a library would have available. Maybe in the filing cabinet to start?

-Do bulletin boards exist? I saw people asking for them earlier in the map suggestions thread. I think it would be a nice addition to have one somewhere near the entrance. Many libraries post their own notices, and invite people to post fliers and things like that.

-A single additional, unnamed bookshelf near the front of the library. Many libraries have a front-and-center bookshelf for things like "New arrivals," "Staff recommendations," "Poetry Month Picks," etc. Giving this tool to the librarian and inviting them to change what sits on it each shift can add a lot of RP potential (I could put staff interviews there, or books written by crew, etc.) I know I can rename bookshelves already, and ask engineering to make a new one, but I think this would be a nice option to have from the get-go. I think that just NW of the AI Holopad would be a good place.

Thank you for reading! I would like to hear other thoughts on the library, if people have them.

Yeah, library is a bit messy as of now. Some improvements would definitely benefit it. Although i was thinking more about remaking it into a journalist's office style

How 'bout it?

In the upper left corner you can see a little librarian area. It has a filling cabinet and a closet where most of the stuff is along with some folders (two of each colour) and a book bag. Directly opposite of it is an unmarked book case. Right by the main door is a notice board (it's on the outer side of the wall, so visible from the hallway but not from the library). And in the upper right corner is the journalist's office. Librarian can use it as his own since they share access but i would really like for the journalist to be a separate slotso that we could move his office to some other location and make the librarian dedicated area bigger.

Huh wow I thought everyone but me had forgot about this thread. I was working on my own map, as well, which I'll post sometime this week so we can compare notes regarding our ideas, since mine has a focus on the librarian instead of the journalist. (The small changes I posted when I made this thread have since become an entire redesign, like yours)

My main question with this map is: where is the librarian computer and book scanner? Those are probably the two most important things for the librarian.

The layout itself looks very nice. The spaciousness is good, and the shelf layout is pretty neat. I agree, too, that it would be cool to have a journalist slot + a librarian slot, with the journalist getting their own office area. I don't know how likely that would be, though, given how few people play either.

The book printing computer is right outside the librarian area in public access. Librarian used to have his own but i thought it's a waste of space to have two of the same devices in the same room. I'm not sure what do you mean by the book scanner but if it's the EFTPOS scanner then it's in the librarian's locker

Ah, no, the book scanner is, in the current map, the device that you place books into for archive upload. It's directly next to the librarian's computer. Without it, we can't add new books to the list.

I wasn't sure if the one outside of the librarian area was the visitor computer (which can only check the archives, not print, to my knowledge), or the librarian computer. Thank you for clarifying that. I feel like I would prefer the printing of books to remain as librarian/journalist-access only, but maybe people don't feel the same. I know Coalf gets sad when he can't get books.

I like having a visitor computer out there still so people can view the archives and say "Oh I want this." That's a good deal of librarian interaction; if they can print their own, though, it sort of takes that away.

Here is my take on library mapping. The deets:

New shelf totals: -1 Nonfic and ref shelf, +1 adult shelf. Why did I downgrade 3-rows of most book cases to 2-rows? It makes for easier stocking; you can still fit as many books as you want, but it's quicker to make it look nice.

Extra shelf (unlabeled) by the front for whatever you want for the day. Most libraries would use it for things like “New arrivals,” or “librarian’s choice,” etc. A journalist might want to display her interviews.

The visitor computer is now more visible, might be used more. The island provides a nice central location for supplies.

Some people only use the library to buy laptops, so I moved it to the front for easier access.

Filing cabinet moved to library office. It was a little weird to have it as public access. Journalists should find this nice for storage.

Lose one individual table/chair set in this design, but still aesthetically nice. Never seen all small tables filled. -2 chairs from long table. Should feel less crowded and more private for those looking for quiet time.

Office is slightly bigger. Locker holds suit, bookbag, EFTPOS stuff. File cabinet holds folders. Generally makes the office neater. I removed the desk because frankly it seemed out of place.

Swapped the position of the book upload scanner/librarian PC for aesthetics; it looks better when you’re printing a book for someone at the desk if you can turn in your chair to face the PC instead of the scanner.

Generally tidied up. Removed the wrapping paper, added a deck of regular playing cards.

Moved the charger towards the front for easier access.

Conerns:

Unsure how the shelves look, aesthetically. Trying to balance how it looks with how accessible they are. Being on the left makes it less of a walk to view the shelves, but I'm not sure if putting them against the wall makes it feel too crowded.

As said in a previous post, I do not play journalist, so I am unsure how well this design works for them. Feedback would be appreciated. The roomy office should feel like a step up, I hope.

I'm not 100% sold on how I arranged the items in the office. Maybe there's a better way?

Unsure if subtracting some shelves makes the library feel even less important than many feel it is.

Basically not 100% sold on the top half of the library and how it's arranged. Been wobbling back and forth on removing/adding tables, putting the lone shelf on the left versus the right, etc. Feedback would be appreciated.

doesn't seem to different from what it is now. The only obvious problems with this draft i curently see is that the newscaster on the port side should probably be moved somewhere since if you're using it you're effectively blocking the shelves around you (not really but non-mechanically it would be pretty difficult to look over shells with someone standing in the aisle). Same with the fire alarm (#firesafety). Starboard side should probably get more carpets (it feels kinda empty). And i'm not sure if the display monitor on the port side is blocked by the laptop dispenser (if it is it should probably be moved as well). Labeler should probably be put back as it's sometimes used for paperwork and some people use the library to do their paperwork. For the same reason i don't think the general access request console should be removed (because it's the main source of paperwork)

The fact that it's not too different is intentional; the current library design is functional, but messy; I'm aiming to tidy it up with small optimizations, not totally overhaul it.

I'll admit that the fire alarm/newcaster placements on port were pretty arbitrarily placed by me. Those can always be rearranged to make sense.

I also felt the same about carpeting the starboard side, but wasn't sure how to do it well.

Noted about the labeler; that can easily be placed back. Though not sure how that fixes paperwork issues; you can rename papers and folders (IIRC) by just right clicking them when holding them. Maybe I'm not totally sure what you mean? I'll admit I don't see many people using the library for paperwork, so I'm unsure what barriers they may have. I'm also not totally sure what you mean about the requests console; that's already locked behind the librarian's desk in the current design. Can't most paperwork be printed from departmental request consoles? I didn't think it was library-specific.

Noted about the labeler; that can easily be placed back. Though not sure how that fixes paperwork issues; you can rename papers and folders (IIRC) by just right clicking them when holding them. Maybe I'm not totally sure what you mean?

There's a name length cap that cuts the name off of the paperwork. Unless it was changed the labeler lets you override this because the cap for name length is calculated separately for the labeler name and the original name (or something along those lines i'm not really sure how that works exactly)

I'm also not totally sure what you mean about the requests console; that's already locked behind the librarian's desk in the current design. Can't most paperwork be printed from departmental request consoles? I didn't think it was library-specific.

Current design has a public request console in the library. While you can print paperwork from every console it's easier to just walk to it and print whatever you need than run across the enrire station to your department or ask around for someone to print it for you. Attached the screenshot of the current library console placement

Aha! I forgot all about that one. Yeah, that can be added back in, then.

Forgot to add my newest revisions. Still a WIP but this should be a step up from my previous thoughts.

Not sold on the placement of the carpeting, looking for comments.

Having sets of 2-shelves makes stocking easier than 3 shelves, as mentioned before.

Trying to keep the design open.

Re-added the missing items (2nd requests console, hand labeler)

Still want to keep the laptop vendor near the front, but again, not 100% sold on it.

Sorry if a few devices were forgotten. It's just a rough layout atm. I don't actually know the first thing about github so this is more of a visual layout than a functioning map upload.

i'd suggest to gerenrally avoid placing machinery (such as laptop vendor or book binder) directly adjacent to the tables. General lack of double tables makes me sad. I'm not sure if unearthing that gap between the library and bathrooms is a good idea, the lack of carpets remains unfixed

I'm probably just going to leave the mapping to Burger and add my suggestions to his thread as he updates. I'm not a mapper, as is pretty obvious. Your feedback is good, thank you.

Moving this to completes as it has been implemented in https://github.com/Aurorastation/Aurora.3/pull/4764