This is the one that makes me want to weep: 7 years here and I am defeated by this one [can it be that architects repeatedly and universally design bad, unworkable libraries because they hate librarians?].
So here is a potted history on the problem: we have had complaints about this every year, without fail – you are a little late in surfacing it, may I add? We have signs at both stairwells that say “Noise carries – please don’t talk near the stairs” which few observe, and I keep my eye out for people talking at those locations when I am walking around.
We have had suggested:
1) sound buffers attached to the stair walls;
2) sound absorbers on the upper floor ceilings;
3) doors at top of stairs (turned down on H&S grounds);
4) doors at bottom of stairs (turned down on H&S grounds); and our own;
5) creating glass partitions near both stairwells on lower floor.
We have not heard further about the latest suggestion (number 5 above) so, in desperation:
I will find a £30 Blackwell gift voucher to anyone who can come up with a practical solution that is H&S proof, and doesn’t involve moats, drawbridges, banishment of students from the lower floor, or massive architectural adjustments.