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Why Do Students Want to Be in the Library If They Aren’t Using the Books?

April 6, 2011. Why Do Students Want to Be in the Library If They Aren’t Using the Books?. Susan Gibbons Vice Provost & Andrew H. & Janet Dayton Neilly Dean River Campus Libraries University of Rochester . Focus on our Local Users. User studies with anthropological & ethnographic methods

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Why Do Students Want to Be in the Library If They Aren’t Using the Books?

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  1. April 6, 2011 Why Do Students Want to Bein the Library If They Aren’t Usingthe Books? Susan Gibbons Vice Provost & Andrew H. & Janet Dayton Neilly Dean River Campus Libraries University of Rochester

  2. Focus on our Local Users • User studies with anthropological & ethnographic methods • 2003/04: Faculty • 2004/06: Undergraduate students • 2006/08: Graduate students • 2007/09: How people search • 2008/09: Science libraries in digital age

  3. Process Library Services Library Spaces Library Digital Tools

  4. Research Question • How can we explain student preference for using “library” space over others? • What do students need to make the most of academic opportunities? • What can libraries do to better meet student needs in time of rapid change?

  5. Case Study: Gleason Library • $5M donation to renovate library and create a “student-centered space” • What types of library spaces do our students need?

  6. Design Workshop • Walk-in participation ($5 & Free Food!) • “Imagine the library has a big, new, empty space and they asked You to design it…It is exactly the way you wanted it to be and you love it and want to go there a lot. Show us what it looks like.”

  7. Composite • Collaborative • Flexibility • Comfort • Sitting, slouching, lying down all supported; food & drink • Technology and tools are well integrated • From plasma screens to staplers • Staff support • Very generic, all-purpose

  8. Outcomes • Collaborative • Flexibility • Comfort • Technology and tools are well integrated • Staff support

  9. Outcomes • Collaborative • Flexibility • Comfort • Technology and tools are well integrated • Staff support

  10. Outcomes • Collaborative • Flexibility • Comfort • Technology and tools are well integrated • Staff support

  11. Outcomes • Collaborative • Flexibility • Comfort • Technology and tools are well integrated • Staff support

  12. Outcomes • Collaborative • Flexibility • Comfort • Technology and tools are well integrated • Staff support

  13. Staff Support • No service desks in space • Library staff drop into space as needed

  14. Why Coming to the Library? • Collaboration is not well supported elsewhere • Buddy system • Hours • Dorms too distracting • Designed to support technology • Designed to support learning styles

  15. Case Study: Carlson Library • How heavily is the space being used? • Who is here? • What are students doing in the space?

  16. Methods • Design workshops • Reply cards • Observations • Walk-though interviews

  17. Reply Cards 100 cards collected • What are you doing here in this seat right now? • How long have you been here? • Why are you here and not someplace else? • If we made you move this minute, where would you go? • When is the very last time you were in this seat?

  18. Reply Cards • 63 quality of space • 14 convenience • 9 habit • 4 books/materials only available here • 4 to be alone • 4 to be with friends • 1 to use computers • 3 to study

  19. Observations

  20. Proportion of Observed Students Doing Academic Work vs. Recreation • 85% academic work • 15% recreation

  21. Physics/Optics/Astronomy Library • Closure proposed

  22. Roll of POA Library • “Having physics books proximal to physics studies is important---those stacks are used when people study, do homework, and browse to expand their minds.” • “The POA provides an environment for our students to get support from their peers, to work together on difficult assignments, to discover what resources are available to help them write scientific papers and lab reports, to access materials that support their classes, to meet their classmates and faculty in a less formal setting than the classroom, etc.”

  23. Why in the Library? • Students want to be in a place of scholarly gravitas • Provides setting, props, and people to adopt the habitus • Facilitation of transition from student to scientist or engineer

  24. Change • Unique spaces designed for the disciplines • Conversion of collection into people spaces • Flexible spaces to host teaching, workshop & speaking events

  25. Questions?

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