On May 3, 2019, the Office for Student Involvement sent an email to the Fordham community announcing the opening of Quinn X, a new campus study space that was going to be ready just in time for finals. Yet in the weeks that followed, very few students took the time to visit the new space. This semester, QuinnX returns for a second test run with a more concrete idea of what it offers students.

The Quinn X space, also known as Quinn Annex, used to house the original Quinn Library before it was moved to its current location in the “140 West” Building in 2016. After some debate, over its use, the administration decided to keep the space as a library and advertised Quinn X as “the silent study space.” 

Director of University Libraries Linda LoSchiavo explained that she didn’t have the official authority to open the space to Fordham students until spring of 2019. “We were still working things out,” LoSchiavo said. “Opening Quinn X was not a simple matter. Among other considerations, there were building code and FDNY code issues that had to be resolved before the doors could be opened to all.”

While the administration in charge of the library has been open and willing to share QuinnX plans and updates with The Observer, as well as trying to disseminate advertising throughout campus, students still report confusion about its purpose and whether its services are valuable enough to warrant utilizing it. 

Many freshmen do not seem to have a clear idea of what the area is. Some were aware of it being “the quiet library,” some believed it to be just another place to study and some had not heard of it at all. When informed of the characteristics and purposes of Quinn X, many students were excited about the space. “I like the idea of having an area that cannot be used for collaborative purposes,” said Brenda DaSilva, Fordham College at Lincoln Center ’23, “because sometimes the regular Quinn Library can cause more distraction than focus.”

Quinn X’s accessibility has also contributed to its mystery; students need to get a study pass from the circulation desk on the second floor of “new” Quinn, walk down two flights of stairs to the ground floor and follow the signs on the columns to Quinn X. 

Students looking for an alternative space to study on campus will find plenty of seating, an impressive assortment of books written before the year 2000, a math help room and amenities such as water fountains and desks to work at Quinn X.