Visitors to some Fairfax County library facilities, including Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library, may have had their curiosity piqued by the site of people occupying vertical “quiet study pods” that vaguely resemble phone booths.
“Those have been an amazing success,” Jessica Hudson, director of Fairfax County Public Library, said about the pods, which were made by Framery O.
According to the manufacturer’s Website, the booths are 87 inches tall, have a footprint of 39.4-by-39.4 inches and reduce exterior noise by 30 decibels.
The pods also have a Formica-laminate table (available in two sizes) and an optional, height-adjustable stool.
A local company that no longer needed the pods in its headquarters donated them to the library system, Hudson said.
“We placed them in specific facilities where we had higher-than-normal usage of our quiet-study rooms,” Hudson said. “They look like a telephone booth, except that the sides of [them] are entirely glass. They’re meant for single-occupancy for someone who needs some quiet thinking space, or take a conference call or do some video chatting.”
The public can book the pods on the library system’s Website (www.fairfaxcounty.gov/library) or at the branch.
“They are very popular, as you would imagine, and they are holding up really well so far,” Hudson said. “We’re happy to have them.”
Library officials do not plan to acquire more of the units yet, but will analyze the current pods’ usage to see if such a purchase makes sense, she said.
