Poster Board Number: 100
Title: Preparing for the Ideal Library Space
Objective: To assess the library space needs and preferences of our students, faculty, and staff to inform health sciences center library remodeling plans for our thirty-six-year-old space and improve library services. Identifying user needs and the characteristics of library spaces that they value are key to remaining a place that is well used.
Methods: Technology has dramatically changed the way students and faculty access and use library resources. The increase in collaborative learning has brought an influx of students looking for spaces in which they can interact and cooperate with each other. The need for quiet study space is still vital, so the library must position itself to accommodate the multitude of needs that our customers have. These changes, along with evolving roles for librarians in meeting the information needs of their various constituencies, necessitate rethinking and updating our library space. In the fall of 2010, the health science centers library conducted a seven-question survey asking students, faculty, and staff what they want and need in an ideal library space. This study reports our findings and how we have used those data to improve the library’s physical space.
Results: Our users are keenly aware of the advantages and challenges of our current library space and offered numerous suggestions for potential improvements. The three areas most frequently addressed were computers and technology, group study spaces, and furniture. Our patrons greatly appreciate the computers that are available both for group and individual study and desire more computers and additional technology. Respondents expressed a need for more comfortable reading space throughout the library, particularly more comfortable furniture. The health sciences center library has used information gleaned from this survey to begin discussions about library space needs with nonlibrary administrators, to prioritize plans for a phased renovation, and to guide decisions about new furniture and computer purchases. Upcoming focus groups will further inform future renovation planning.
Conclusions: Patrons at an academic health sciences center have diverse needs regarding library spaces; eliciting their input is vital to any renovation or building planning.
Authors: Hannah F. Norton, AHIP, Reference and Liaison Librarian; Linda Butson, AHIP, Consumer Health and Community Outreach Librarian; Michele R. Tennant, AHIP, Assistant Director and Bioinformatics Librarian, Health Science Center Libraries and UF Genetics Institute; Cecilia Botero, Associate Dean, George A. Smathers Libraries, and Director; Health Science Center Libraries; University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
