Philip Robinson Library - Newcastle upon Tyne

Despi I.

Good place to study but super cold. They do not turn the heating on even during freezing cold days. My hands were freezing and I couldn’t write.

Especially when sitting by a window.

Andrew

Wealth of resources. Staff are almost always friendly and helpful. Good facilities and café.

Yousra

Very nice place to get things done, there main issues are:
1. It can get very noisy even on the silent reading spaces, staff arent shushing any one.
2. They dont have heating or they dont turn it on.
3. They dont clean desks and bookable spaces appropriately specially the keyboards and mouse, I always need to wipe them as they tend to be very sticky and with lots of food cramps

THE S. B. O. T. W.

Looks like a nice library, lots of resources and stuff there, but oh my was the receptionist a hard taskmaster.

Are you a human? Do you like being treated as such? Do you prefer for another member of your own species to treat you as a functioning member of society?

If the answer to all of the above is yes and you are not a current Newcastle Uni student, do NOT come here!! Do NOT risk being treated like cattle the moment you walk through the door!

The library supposedly offers a place to study for sixth formers in NE England, as well as students of Northumbria and Durham unis. I went to tap my sixth form ID card at the gates, it doesn't work. Not to worry, I tell myself, I'll just show the nice man at the front desk my card and explain that I was under the impression I as a sixth former in close proximity to the uni campus could use the library!

He, as though I had woken up one morning and thought to myself 'you know what, I think I'll go to the Robinson Library today for the crack', told me there was "absolutely no way in the world that would ever work."

I, surprised yet undeterred, explained what I had been told by my sixth form's librarian, just to make sure he knew that I wasn't under the influence of clinical insanity, and that as such I thought access would be a given in this instance?

His response?

"I have no idea why anybody would even think that"- clearly targeted at me instead of anyone else that had influenced me to come to the Robinson Library.

My response, as a self-respecting member of society, was something like "hardly my fault is it? I'm just acting on what I was told."

His response? The same as it had been a matter of seconds ago. Exceptionally bad experience to the point where it was almost impressive how badly this man was dealing with the whole thing.

If you are a Newcastle Uni student and typically do not need any interaction with the desk staff to get in, I do recommend this library. It's a state of the art facility and overall a good place you might want to work. But if you are not, I'd just go to a local library instead if I were you!

Jay D.

Great place to study and work for students. There is a small but cozy cafe that offers food. There are many different spaces with many types of study: quiet, silent, and collaborative depending on what is your style.

Florian B.

One of the best places I've ever worked/studied. Make sure you arrive early to get a good spot, especially during the exam period. I always preferred the computer cluster on the entrance level. There you get nice sunlight from the windows and the bistro is not far away.

Alkhalil A.

This is by far the second best place for studying. Very organized studying place, and a private rooms are available. There are a plenty of computers every where. It gets crowded during the finals weeks other than that, it is very nice.

Richard W.

Great library, does what it says on the tin. In fact it’s the only library I’ve visited on numerous occasions. There was an intense, dare I say febrile, period in early 2003 when I was in here for hours every day, fuelled by caffeine, preparing for finals. You might call it ‘cramming’ or perhaps ‘selective learning for the exam’ or maybe even ‘short term knowledge transfer’. I know this: with this library’s help I was victorious, I got the grades and the career followed. Mission accomplished.