Ciara McCaffrey and Michelle Breen 775 portal: Libraries and the Academy, Vol. 16, No. 4 (2016), pp. 775–791. Copyright © 2016 by Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, MD 21218. Quiet in the Library: An Evidence-Based Approach to Improving the Student Experience Ciara McCaffrey and Michelle Breen abstract: This article deals with the management of noise in an academic library by outlining an evidence-based approach taken over seven years by the University of Limerick in the Republic of Ireland. The objective of this study was to measure the impact on library users of noise management interventions implemented from 2007 to 2014 through retrospective analysis of LibQUAL+® survey data. The data indicate that readers’ perceptions of the provision of quiet space in the library greatly improved in that period. The study provides evidence showing the effectiveness of interventions, such as the development of a noise policy, zoning, rearranging of furniture, removal of service points from reader spaces, and structural improvements. There is evidence to indicate that the creation of a separate graduate reading room may be an effective noise management intervention not previously identifed in the literature. Academic libraries struggling with noise problems and those with low scores on the LibQUAL+® quiet space question may fnd some helpful interventions that have an underlying evidence base to indicate their effectiveness when dealing with noise and the provision of quiet space. Introduction T he library as a learning space has transformed in the last two decades from a traditional quiet space to an energized, busy environment that meets a variety of user needs. The evolution of group learning, technology-enhanced learning, information commons, learning grids, and other new spaces has enhanced the position of the “library as place” in the university, but such success has brought with it new chal- lenges. One consequence of such a transformation is that libraries appear to be growing noisier. It is a common experience for a library to conduct a feedback exercise, such as the LibQUAL+® survey, hereafter referred to simply as LibQUAL, to better understand