The Influence of Library Spaces on Student Engagement

Track

Administration and Management

Level of Experience

Intermediate

Target Audience

Academic Librarians and Research

Session Description 

In this presentation session participants will better understand how library space design influences student engagement. Data and results from a 2019 study investigating academic library space needs and wants, perceived benefits of using the library for studying and other educationally purposeful activities, as well as methods for improvement to allow for increased student engagement will be covered. The design of academic library spaces will always be a concern for librarians. As our libraries continue to move away from just being storehouses of information, librarians must find other ways to demonstrate that they contribute to their respective university missions. One way to accomplish this is to assess the influence physical library spaces have on student success. As new generations of students enter the college or university, the curriculum changes, and new technologies are developed, academic librarians must make changes to their library spaces to allow for increased academic and social engagement. With the data uncovered by this research related to how and why students use the library, librarians will be better informed when making decisions about how to allocate resources to redesign library spaces. This data can also be helpful in assessing the influence recently designed spaces have on student success. Additionally, this data can be useful when advocating for additional funds to renovate library spaces or in maintaining current spaces. By assessing library spaces for levels of academic and social engagement, librarians will be able to draw some conclusions related to their influence on student success, an important metric at any college or university. Often times when conducting assessments of library spaces, librarians only focus on undergraduate students and do not consider the unique needs of graduate students. This study fills a gap in the literature by studying graduate and undergraduate students at a medium-sized state university. The presentation will include how the conceptual framework for the study and research question were developed. The results of the research will provide participants with a better understanding of what differences exist between graduate and undergraduate students’ use of library spaces and their perceived benefits of using the library for academically purposeful activities; the ways in which students believe using the library influences their level of academic and social engagement; and the ways in which current library spaces could be improved to allow for increased academic and social engagement.

Presenter 

Dr. Sarah D. DeVille
Dr. Sarah DeVille recently completed her doctorate in Educational Leadership at Florida Gulf Coast University. She also has a B.A. in History from Florida Gulf Coast University and a M.S. in Library and Information Studies from Florida State University. Her research interests revolve around library space design and library contributions to student success. Sarah has been very active in service to both FLA and FACRL including chairing the 2016 FLA Conference.

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