Jubilee Library is the main public library in Brighton and forms the centrepiece of the Jubilee square development in central Brighton. Opened in 2005 by the Princess Royal, Jubilee Library stands at the heart of a multi-million pound scheme for redevelopment of a forty year old brownfield site and was recognised at the time of opening as one of the most energy efficient structures in England with a carbon footprint half that of a traditional public building of comparable size.

In addition to an extensive literature collection, Jubilee Library offers local communities state of the art IT facilities within its IT Connect room, a full business suite with five conference rooms and a one-to-one meeting room, available to hire by the hour, per day or half day. The conference

facilities provide local businesses, council departments, universities and charities flexible meeting solutions. The Booklover Store, a Café and two exhibition spaces, also available for hire, make the Library a vibrant space and an enjoyable place to visit.

Kier Group Facilities Management, responsible for the management of Jubilee Library for Brighton & Hove City Council, called in unified business solutions provider TwistedPair to provide a sound masking solution for the library’s conference and meeting rooms earlier this year.

“Our aim is to guarantee privacy and confidentiality for users of our meeting and conference rooms”, commented Louise Millard, Commercial and Conference Coordinator for Jubilee Library. “Users of our spaces are often discussing sensitive matters and we do not want this information overheard in public areas or corridors”, adds Millard.

Hanieh Motamedian, Business Development Manager for Sound Directions, UK distributor for Cambridge Sound Management Sound Masking systems subsequently met with TwistedPair at Jubilee Library and successfully demonstrated a viable and affordable sound masking solution.

“The Qt® Series of sound masking solutions from Cambridge Sound Management provide improved privacy, confidentiality and enhanced employee confidence in workplace solutions. We are able to demonstrate real day-to-day benefits of a carefully designed and installed solution”, says Motamedian.

By introducing additional layers of sound to an environment, tuned to frequencies and amplitudes of human speech, Cambridge Sound Management’s sound masking solutions masks excessive speech noise and allow environments where it is introduced to become more private, comfortable and free of excessive distractions.

A Qt®600 three-zone sound masking system from Cambridge Sound Management was installed at Jubilee Library, connected to fifty-seven sound masking emitters across meeting rooms adjacent to public areas, by TwistedPair.

Installed over a number of days, including out of hours work to minimise disruption for Jubilee

Library, the sound masking system was commissioned on a subsequent visit by TwistedPair during operational hours, prior to handover of the system to Jubilee Library.

The sound masking emitters located in the meeting rooms at Jubilee Library disrupt sound waves (typically conversations) spilling out of the meeting rooms and in to public areas. The emitters also disrupt sound waves from adjacent meeting rooms improving confidentiality of conversations

between rooms.

“The sound masking solution provided by TwistedPair is 2easy to operate and speech

intelligibility outside of the rooms is markedly reduced once the system is in operation”,

summarises Louise Millard, Jubilee Library.

Adam Glyde, Managing Director for TwistedPair concludes, “You can absorb, you can block, but sound masking is the only controllable method to truly manage the risk to prevent escaping

conversations from being overheard”.