(Jan 28/08) My name is Sadia Iqbal and I am a member of the Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences Society here at McMaster. I am writing this email to address the issue of room booking in the Health Sciences Library. Currently, the only students allowed to pre-book rooms in the library are Health Sciences students, but this does not include members of the Biochemistry Department. Our department prides itself in being a joint program between the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Health Sciences so we therefore feel that Biochemistry students should also have the privilege of pre-booking rooms. The teaching style in the Health Sciences program shares many similarities with our department, most notably the concept of problem based learning and inquiry classes. This type of learning style requires a substantial amount of group work and thus our students could definitely take advantage of the rooms available in the library, if given the privilege. Although we are able to book rooms if they are available, the rooms are in very high demand and finding a room at the time needed is difficult. The society understands that it is not feasible to give everyone the privilege of pre-booking rooms, however we feel that our argument is genuine and that it should at least be considered. Thank you very much for your time, Sadia Iqbal Co-President Biochemisty and Biomedical Sciences Society McMaster University
Answered by: Liz Bayley (Director, Health Sciences Library)