02.05.2023
Our innovative room booking system Zeitwart is used at the library of Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences and simplifies the process of booking rooms and resources for students and staff. Thanks to its flexibility and adaptability, Zeitwart enables transparent, simple and fair booking of rooms and resources in the university library.
The library at Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences opted for Zeitwart to ensure optimum utilisation of the limited number of study rooms and to avoid vacancies. It was involved in the development of Zeitwart at an early stage, which is why it can even be said that Zeitwart has grown to meet the demands and needs of a library. We have succeeded in developing a booking system that is tailored to the specific needs of libraries and their users.
Our system enables students and staff to search for and book rooms with specific equipment features such as projectors or PC workstations. Zeitwart is also used to book company cars and mobile IT equipment.
The TD-1050 Pro touch terminals from Qbic are used at the university library to display the occupancy of individual and group study rooms, as well as for ad hoc bookings with the student card. The university library has posted a great reel on Instagram and reports on it on its website.
The touch terminals for room bookings are very popular with students. Operation is intuitive, so there is little need for explanation. The utilisation of the rooms has increased once again thanks to the terminals, as many students use the opportunity to book rooms spontaneously. Users are also positive about the option to book using RFID with their card. By installing the touch terminals, we have at the same time received fewer enquiries from students about available rooms. Finding free rooms has become much easier thanks to the available map view.
Renate Pieper-Bekierz (Head of Library)
Zeitwart is a booking system that makes it possible to differentiate between different user groups such as staff and students or specific degree programmes. The university library can thus regulate access to rooms in a targeted manner and fulfil individual requirements. Administrators can work with the user base from their IDM and link existing user groups with booking rules.
A particular advantage of Zeitwart is its ease of administration and the ability to implement customised booking rules. This enables the Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences library to continuously adapt and expand the system to meet the needs of its users. Our system is designed in such a way that it can be easily scaled and customised as required without requiring a great deal of effort.
Zeitwart makes administrative work much easier compared to the previous system. Inheritance and the role model simplify many work steps for administrators and any room managers. Larger customisations and special solutions are comparatively easy to implement independently and usually have the desired effect immediately. In the day-to-day business of the library, Zeitwart is largely inconspicuous or effort-neutral. Room booking via Zeitwart has been fully accepted by the students and ensures a fair distribution and high utilisation of resources, especially at busy times. Group study rooms in particular are very well received, whereby the ability to filter for specific IT equipment is of particular importance here.
Renate Pieper-Bekierz (Library Director)
Zeitwart helps to create freedom for students and staff and promote learning success. By reducing the effort and complexity involved in booking rooms and resources, library staff can concentrate on their core tasks such as advising and teaching skills.
Overall, Zeitwart is a powerful and flexible room booking system that has been specially developed for use in libraries such as Osnabrück University of Applied Sciences. We are proud that our solution helps to support students' learning success and make library operations more efficient and user-friendly.