UF students will soon be able to check how long the Starbucks line is at Library West without leaving their seats.
Both Library West and Marston Science Library are planning to feature live camera feeds on their websites, similar to the live feeds used at the Southwest Recreation Center and Student Recreation & Fitness Center.
Patrick Reakes, associate dean for Scholarly Resources and Services, said it made sense to include this feature as the libraries gain additional security cameras in the next month or so.
About 50 high-resolution cameras are to be installed between both libraries — a $79,000 collaborative effort involving University Police, the chief operating officer’s office, business affairs and both libraries, said Peter Miller, facilities planning coordinator.
UF Student Government fueled the idea, Reakes said.
UF Student Body President Cory Yeffet said one of the consistent requests he heard from students during his campaign was to have capacity counters in the libraries.
“There were several things people were looking for: enhancing security, capacity counters and cameras to be able to see how long the line was at Starbucks before heading down there and being disappointed by a 30-minute line,” Yeffet said.
With this new feature, students can check how packed either library is and plan accordingly, Reakes said.
The live videos will be low resolution to avoid privacy concerns, Reakes said. This way a student won’t be able to identify faces, but rather get a feel for how busy the library may be. Officials have not yet determined where students will be able to view the footage.
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 4/3/2015 under the headline “New cameras in UF libraries will show lines for Starbucks”]
Sundeep Singh, 20, drinks coffee while studying at the Library West Starbucks on Wednesday afternoon. Recent studies suggest people do not regularly consume coffee during the hours that would have the strongest effect.
