Evaluation of University of Queensland Library Spaces: three case studies at St Lucia Campus

Introduction: The paper reports on an evaluation study of spaces in the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSHL), Biological Sciences (BSL) and Walter Harrison Law (WHLL) Libraries of the University of Queensland (UQ). The study was part of an evaluation of the quality and patterns of use of spaces in UQ libraries, which aimed to propose recommendations for future improvements and decision-making. This paper presents a study of areas of weakness in existing SSHL spaces, and impacts of the refurbishment of spaces at BSL and WHLL on students’ experiences. The findings evidence a link between students’ learning experiences and the quality of library spaces.Methods: An online survey, “Students’ Experiences and Perceptions of Library Physical Spaces”, was designed to collect data from students. The survey questions addressed seven topics: (1) overall satisfaction with spaces in the UQ Libraries; (2) welcoming nature of the library entry; (3) lighting; (4) acoustics; (5) furniture; (6) wayfinding; and (7) preferences for different space types in the library.Results: 1505 students completed the surveys, with 1098 responses recorded to open-ended questions on why students visited the libraries and the physical characteristics of the spaces that influenced their experiences. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data elucidated key design challenges and considerations. In particular, the data suggested that the provision of individual quiet study spaces remains an important role of academic libraries, with Studying Alone identified as the most important reason for student visits.Conclusions: The findings highlight the importance of individual study spaces and propose a number of recommendations in relation to physical space design and management.Relevance: Academic libraries face the challenge to keep pace with change in relation to students’ demographics, pedagogy and technology. In doing so, it is important to have an understanding of the evolving patterns of students’ learning behaviours, space uses and preferences through ongoing evaluation of library spaces.

Bullied by Budgets, Pushed by Patrons, Driven by Demand: Libraries and Tantalizing Technologies

Libraries are caught in the middle—between static or shrinking budgets on one hand and ever-expanding user needs on the other. How did we get here, and where do we go from here? This paper will offer two perspectives: Part I will present survey results about changing Library purchasing habits in light of changing formats, access, business models and user demands. Data from a previous survey on this topic will be compared and updated. Pricing trends and possible futures will be discussed. Part II will briefly trace the history of libraries’ roles in scholarly communication and connecting learners with knowledge. From there, we show an example of phasing in a patron-driven / demand-driven and short-term loan e-book program, complete with incorporating these tools in library instruction, research, and portable device loadability for field work.

May 1994: Statewide Library Network Urged; WPA and Libraries in S.C.; Library Directors' Forum

Inside this Issue: WPADirector's ForumArchivesM. L King LibraryElectronic Info

February 2003: Of Eunuchs, Formalized Curiosity and Libraries

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February 2000: Libraries as Camelot

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Libraries in the Cyberage

Carol Clancy, Senior Council for the National Center for Children and Families, makes a scholarly plea for libraries to filter pornography.

Libraries in the Cyberage--Part I

First Amendment issues heat up with the advent of the digital age and its ability to bring pornography to every library, free of charge.

Filter-tipped Libraries

Is it possible to say something positive about Internet filtering in libraries and not have everyone, including your mother, call you a wild-eyed, hidebound, neo-Nazi bashi-bazouk? No, of course not, but I'm going to try to anyway.

Libraries-As-Sex: The New Paradigm?

“Libraries are a lot like sex.” There just had to be a way, I kept telling myself as I watched somnambulant freshperson after somnambulant freshperson (is that what we’re calling them now?) drag his or her soporific self into our library research classes.

Ah, Libraries: How I Love the Smell of... Electronic Access?!

In the olden days, we Baby-Boomers would walk into our university or college libraries and pause just long enough to take in that wonderful smells of high grade cowhide leather and aging papyrus before rushing off to study. There was something about opening any leather bound edition of anything and being transported by the smell to some distant land, not unlike Charles Swann in Marcel Proust’s famous French novel, A La Recherché du Temps Perdu, Remembrance of Things Past.

Libraries in the Cyberage, Part IV

Is the book dead? Are libraries obsolete? Did the Internet murder both?

“The True University of these Days Is a Collection of …” eBooks?!

We do live in interesting times, don’t we? This is especially true of those of us who spend most of our working lives in libraries. The last ten years have been so filled with change that it’s almost become a byword: if you don’t like something, just wait a few hours and it will change. This isn’t a complaint, just an observation.

Libraries in the Cyberage, Part III

The roots of librarianship have been sorely shaken by the Internet, but to what extent and how much remains to be seen.