I’m hearing that on the days when LAC is open to researchers most of the seats aren’t taken.
The problem comes from having to book two weeks ahead. Sometimes other things happen in the interim meaning places remain vacant, while people who could use them are denied the opportunity.
While the present limited opening hours are in operation LAC could implement a mechanism to reassign seats of people who cancel or don’t show up on a last-minute basis. That would be particularly helpful for those with material already in lockers or in open access.
Maybe they should think about opening the research rooms to 24/7 again? When I was doing my MA in the late 1970s and there were then only 6 microfilm readers, you would get bumped off machines if you went to the washroom, and then you were out of luck for the rest of the day. Instead, I would come in at 9:00 pm and work until 8-9:00 am. In the 1st Basement, there was a coffee/hot chocolate/chicken soup machine — everything came out of the same spigot, with noodles and marshmallows floating in your coffee — so you could get a full meal in one cup. yum. 🙂