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Using students to control behaviour is not something we have tried at the University of Portsmouth Library.  We found self policing happens naturally in those areas where students are naturally silent but that in areas that have not naturally attracted groups of students working silently policing even by staff is very difficult.  

Ambient noise levels, including noise originating from another area of the building, seem critical in managing talking and overall noise levels.  Our solutions have therefore been to move with the natural cultural flow of the building, moving the silent zones to those areas where students naturally want to work silently wherever possible and to promote the one space that is an Individual Silent Study Zone but which is subject to noise rising from the Atrium as a 'Quiet Zone', where students are expected to work in silence but can expect a gentle background murmur.  The silent zones mostly maintain themselves and a permanent staff presence at times of peak occupancy in the Quiet Zone help maintain it as a near silent zone, suppressing the tendency of students to start talking if background noise levels suddenly rise.