Olin Library staff members think that they have identified a new trend in the continuing shortage of senior thesis carrels, which has in recent years become one of the most hotly contested competitions for space on campus, second only to the dramatic General Room Selection process. Staff members said that in a preliminary tally, conducted several weeks after carrels were assigned, one of every five carrels showed no sign of serious use. While these carrels go unused, the staff said, the 47 seniors on the wait list are forced to work at regular library desks, in noisy houses or in other less desirable locations.

In a recent preliminary check, the library staff found that 12 of the 50 carrels on the top floor were virtually empty, except for a form note placed in every carrel at the beginning of the year—evidence of disuse, staff members said. The students with empty carrels were sent an email on Monday that asked them to return their keys as soon as possible.

“It would get us through about half of our wait list if these people gave up their keys,” said Maura Scully ’08, who said that she has observed this pattern intensify since she started working in the library three years ago, when there was very little competition for carrels.

However, Annalisa Bolin ’08, who is translating archeological articles from French into English for her thesis, is skeptical that the empty carrels are unused.

“I use it three or four times a week and it has one book in it,” she said. “You could have left that note in there all semester and still used the carrel. I want to know how they determine who is and isn’t using their carrel.”

At this point, seniors are relatively deep into their research, said John Earle ’08, an English and Religion double major who is writing a thesis on the later part of William Faulkner’s oeuvre and is low on the waiting list for a carrel.

“Most people are writing preliminary drafts right now,” Earle said. “Even if they hadn’t written anything yet, I would think their carrels would be full of books. I know I’ve got a pile of books.”

Last year, the lottery system for carrels came under criticism as an unprecedented 69 seniors initially found themselves on the wait list. Although the number has decreased this year, Library Assistant Jessie Steele thinks that the lottery system has made students overly possessive of space that they may not need.

“It’s almost like a right,” Steele said. “They feel like they won this carrel and they don’t want to give it up.”

Steele said that few students have been forthright with her about this issue in the past.

“There were two people that were actually honest last year and told us they weren’t using their carrel,” she said.

It is not clear whether the email asking for keys will result in any turnover of carrels. For now, those on the waiting list have two alternatives. One is to claim a desk in the public part of the library. Another is to ask for a second key and share a single carrel with a friend.

Ultimately, Steele is hesitant to enforce any harsh measures. At the same time, she is not sure that she trusts students one hundred percent regarding this issue.

“We could change the locks, but we’re not going to do that,” she said. “Do you believe someone who tells you that they’re using it even though the carrel’s empty, or do you pursue it further?”