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Abstract ‘‘Sweeping’ ’ the library: Mapping the social activity space of the public library 1
Abstract
Although libraries are public spaces in which individuals engage in a range of social and informational activities, few researchers in library and information science use ethnographic approaches to study users' experiences in these settings. This article describes spatial analysis techniques used by geographers and other researchers of social space. It examines the ways in which these techniques may be used to map the physical layout of libraries and information centers, and patrons' uses of those spaces. The article focuses on one observational approach (the “seating sweeps” method) used to study individuals' use of central public libraries in two large Canadian cities. In addition to a description of the design and implementation of the method, the article presents some of the study's findings that support the utility of this method for facilities redesign or planning to accommodate patrons' information behaviors and usage patterns and to emphasize the central library as a vibrant and vital public space.
... Libraries like malls, restaurants and other social settings provide public space in which people engage in a range of social and informational activities (Given and Leckie, 2003). In the attempt to meet the needs of library patrons, there are numerous research articles on the information needs, information seeking behaviour and information sources of various groups of library users. ...
... Alongside these activities, are behaviours that are classified as leisure or social, for example, use of cell phones, Mp3 players or other sound devices, chatting, playing games on computers, napping, resting, flirting, eating and drinking. Given and Leckie (2003), Hursh and Avenarius (2013) used the "sweeping" observational method and an ethnographic approach, respectively, to find out what patrons really do in libraries. Given and Leckie (2003) investigated the actual daily use and meaning of contemporary central libraries as public places in the context of a North American culture. ...
... Given and Leckie (2003), Hursh and Avenarius (2013) used the "sweeping" observational method and an ethnographic approach, respectively, to find out what patrons really do in libraries. Given and Leckie (2003) investigated the actual daily use and meaning of contemporary central libraries as public places in the context of a North American culture. A similar study was conducted in Loughborough University to find out how students perceive user space and what they do in music libraries (Hursh and Avenarius, 2013). ...
Ghana and Cameroon face a growing burden of chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In both countries lay communities draw on multiple social sources for NCD knowledge, including the mass media. Information content, accuracy and usefulness differs across sources. This study examined the sources and contents of NCD articles in the Ghanaian Mirror and the Cameroonian tribune over two theoretically significant periods: June 1999 – June 2000 and June 2009 - June 2010. Analysis showed that: (1) in both countries the volume of newspaper reporting on NCDs increased across the two time periods; (2) Cameroon had a weaker culture of chronic disease reporting; (3) in Ghana, six major NCDs were represented, however a quarter of articles were plagiarised from foreign websites; (4) the politics of health funding and policies influenced media health reporting. These findings are discussed and the implications for the future role of newspapers in NCD education are outlined.
... Surveys are a popular research method, questioning either patrons (Aabø et al., 2010;Chen & Ke, 2017) or professionals (Audunson & Evjen, 2017;Barniskis, 2016;Lenstra, 2017). Observing activities occurring in the library is also a common method, often in combination with patron interviews and/or policy analysis (e.g., Aabø & Audunson, 2012;Aptekar, 2019;Given & Leckie, 2003;Peterson, 2017). Both surveys and observations provide detailed information on patronage use, but little on the meaning of the library in the lives of people. ...
... Our single-case study might indeed not be representative for the entire Dutch library landscape, with central libraries in big cities transforming into new urban hotspots, while smaller branches in small to medium-sized towns and cities are struggling with decreasing funding and patronage (Van Mil et al., 2019). While most studies understandably focus their attention on large libraries as social infrastructures and showcases of pluralism and encounters with 'otherness' in multi-ethnic urban centres like Vancouver, Toronto, New York, Oslo, London, Glasgow, Sydney or Rotterdam (Aabø & Audunson, 2012;Aptekar, 2019;Given & Leckie, 2003;Johnson, 2010;Peterson, 2017Peterson, , 2021Robinson, 2020;Williamson, 2020), we believe our understanding of libraries as social infrastructures will be further enhanced if we also look at smaller libraries in 'not-so-urban', more homogenous, contexts. Here, encounters between difference do not necessarily occur along the lines of race or ethnicity, but rather along the lines of age, health and other personal characteristics. ...
... Over the years the library in our study most definitely became more 'noisy', with sometimes-animated conversations during lunch meetings and at the computer consoles, in addition to regular audible conversations between staff, volunteers and visitors. As such, our library departs from other library studies, which -perhaps stereotypicallydepict them as quiet spaces (Chen & Ke, 2017;Given & Leckie, 2003;Peterson, 2017), where 'talking can take place, and certainly does, [but] it is not the main activity' (Aabø & Audunson, 2012, p. 148). In our studied library silence has become the exception rather than the norm. ...
Public libraries are more than information providers; they increasingly serve as key social infrastructures. Financial pressures, decreasing membership and digitalisation require libraries to reinvent themselves as primarily spaces of an encounter. This paper focuses on the retooling of small public libraries in the Netherlands as social infrastructure and the formal and informal library practices (‘infrastructuring’) that are required for the library to function as space of encounter. The paper reports on an in-depth, single-case study based on 15 years of volunteering, participant observations, repeated interviews with staff and informal conversations with patrons. By examining the multi-purposed features of a single site, we illustrate how the library, as an exemplary public space, is being retooled by both staff and patrons. While encounters mostly seem to occur within rather than between groups, there are many meaningful acts of kindness between different people. Though the library is undeniably a social infrastructure, the paper also shows how difficult it is to document, let alone practice this social function.
... Another concern was to create intersubjectivity among subjects and objects of knowledge through dialogue by focusing on theories of self, their values and meanings and on their actual practices and discourses (Donmoyer 2000). An integrated, qualitative approach was designed, directed at the social actors' actual practices and their interpretation (Blumer 1969;Geertz 1975). ...
... Conviviality, alongside with gratuity, was one main motivator for visits, according to some of the persons who were interviewed. Given and Leckie (2003), in research on public libraries in Canada, stress that talking is one of the most common activities − "libraries may need to do more to encourage the view of [the] 'library as interactive place' versus [the] 'library as quiet space'". ...
... The central role of libraries to promote conviviality in public spaces has been evoked in literature (Given and Leckie 2003;Leckie 2004;Audunson 2005;Illich 2005Illich [1971; Audunson et al. 2007;Fisher et al. 2007;Aabø, Audunson and Vårheim 2010). The fact that libraries are places that are unassociated with consumption was stressed (Leckie and Hopkins 2002). ...
... The pilot study was conducted in 2013 and presented and published as a paper in the 9 th International Space Syntax Symposium in Seoul 17 and in the A|Z Journal of Architecture 18 . Aside helping to 15 (Given & Leckie 2003) 16 (Aabø & Audunson 2012) 17 Capillé, Cauê, and Sophia Psarra. 2013. ...
... In chapter 4, a pilot study illustrates and tests the methods discussed in this chapter for the case of public libraries and for the scope set by this thesis' research questions. Chapter 4 also explains how the methodological procedures were adapted for the cases of Medellín, considering the experience of the pilot study (chapter 4) and the review of space syntax brought 1 (Given & Leckie 2003) 2 (Aabø & Audunson 2012) by this chapter (chapter 3). In chapter 5, the rationale for case selection is presented as well as the five libraries studied. ...
... It is noteworthy that 'mapping' is a method used by other studies that investigate about visitors' activities in public libraries (e.g. Leckie and Hopkins 2002;Given and Leckie 2003). However, different from what is intended in the present work, these studies tend to analyse their mapping surveys only through a demographic profile of the use of space. ...
Political and cultural agendas determine the programmes of public libraries, implying complex and often conflicting requirements in terms of their functioning. On one hand, they need to provide open and equal access to knowledge. On the other, they have functional needs that might restrict or condition the distribution and access of books, equipment and people. At the same time, social and technological changes cause this building type to change so as to include the idea of socialisation as a form of learning. This thesis investigates how space, programme and use interrelate in public libraries in order to express an intended public message and fulfil a specific social and cultural effect. Medellín’s Library-Parks are the main case studies analysed, as they function as key elements of a project that addresses social inequalities. Through spatial analysis using space syntax methods, the thesis provides a thorough description of these libraries’ spatial configuration and their spatial organisation of programme. In addition, it shows how the libraries are used through a detailed mapping of users’ co-presence, which exposes patterns that are further associated with the spatial and programmatic arrangements. Based on these three analyses, the thesis formulates types of spatial cultures in public libraries and exposes the role of space in influencing the emergence and/or constraint of particular patterns of social awareness that the traditional notion of the programme cannot capture. It is found that depending on how public libraries control public use (spatially and programmatically), they can support the emergence of informal activities or work as educational institutions only. In addition, depending on how public libraries’ educational role is manifested in space as spatial practices, they can serve as places that facilitate the exercise of institutional-bureaucratic power to normalise visitors’ behaviours, or places that stimulate public participation and negotiation. The findings emphasise how public libraries work as accessible civic environments, promoting visitors’ political and social awareness and potentially strengthening the collective engagement of the surrounding communities.
... Libraries constitute a type of public space that is often overlooked in discussions about the changing nature and role of public space in contemporary society (Frederikson 2015). Trying to define or classify space, including library space, in terms of its degree of publicness is a difficult, possibly futile task (Given and Leckie 2003). However, trying to understand what it is that people value about public space is important, especially for spaces like public libraries which currently face a number of threats. ...
... The public sphere is always grounded in physical space (Low 2017) and, in the guise of spaces like parks, squares and city thoroughfares, public space is highly valued politically, socially and symbolically for its democratic qualities (Varna and Tiesdell 2010). For Given and Leckie (2003), the library is arguably one of the few authentic physical, public spaces left. Jaeger et al. (2021, 2) describe libraries as the 'radiant ideal of democracy' and argue that shutting their doors during the pandemic felt like democracy itself had gone into hiding. ...
In an increasingly digital age public libraries have had to adapt to rapid changes in how information is produced, disseminated and consumed. This has led to questions about whether their physical presence matters any longer. In addition, they have been subjected to public funding cuts which seem likely to be exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic as demands on the public purse intensify. In terms of governance, as with other public spaces, there are signs of a move away from direct state involvement to arrangements involving a range of social actors. Developments like this which see the state reduce its oversight and involvement with public spaces have generally been interpreted negatively. In this context, Capillé (2017, 409) noted the importance of investigating the ‘publicness of public libraries and their value for society’. This chapter reports the findings of a study investigating the kinds of publicness that libraries foster. Empirically, it used a qualitative open-ended survey tool to gather data from people attending Dublin Festival of History events at six local libraries. The findings yield insight into people’s library usage, their understanding of the local library as a public space and the role that festivals and events play in opening it up to wider use. While the libraries studied create public spaces where groups of like-minded people can easily gather, reproduce shared meanings and generally feel included, they are not engaging for everyone. Study participants felt that libraries are under-valued and that barriers to accessing the public space of the local library are very real.
... The same individuals, who will never touch a book in a local library, can afford a moment's read without losing face in front of their friends because they can hide, isolate themselves, cheat what they are normally allowed to do without arousing the teasing of their peers [30], even the stigmatization and 8 Doing quantitative work on qualitative data is intriguing because the recurrences and frequencies of the profiles and situations are immediately grasped in terms of sex and age. [15] exclusion to which boys who admit to loving reading expose themselves. [9] The more voluminous spaces available in multimedia libraries and the distance from one's neighborhood of residence and acquaintances thus open up original possibilities. ...
... Two techniques were used: clandestine observation and user tracking. Clandestine observation is made easier in public facilities where one can take the place of an ordinary user, letting interactions unfold without disturbance: this is the method of "sweeping the library".[15] The second technique is user tracking, which consists in following individuals' paths in a space.[42] 4 This observation is shared by all studies conducted abroad, and is only now beginning to gain ground as an issue in France and Europe more generally.[33] ...
... Monitoring, with modifications, was chosen as the method of observation. Monitoring and related observation methods like seating sweeps methods have been used for example in Norwegian and Canadian public libraries (Given and Leckie 2003;Baker 2006;Høivik 2008). Examples of the use of monitoring in academic libraries are rare. ...
... The results are somewhat similar to results from previous studies. The results from two Canadian central public libraries, Toronto Reference Library and Vancouver Public Library reported by Given and Leckie (2003) indicated that reading was the most prominent activity at all times of the day in both libraries. More recent results from Norway's Drammen Library, a digitally wellequipped public library, showed that the most common activity was sitting alone with library computer -18% of observations. ...
... Implementation Implementation of E -Booking could initially be done by mapping and photographing all areas of the hospital. Then create a website and subsequently an application that will be simple and easy to use [5], [6]. ...
... • Digitization of spaces (mapping and 3D photography) [5]. ...
In recent years there has been a growing demand for online services. These web services include online shopping and booking, internet telephony, audio and video streaming, email, social networking, information retrieval and more. In an effort to meet the ever increasing demands of these various applications, the e-service providers strive to provide users with multiple services, simplifying procedures and facilitating access to them. This article introduces the idea of creating an electronic platform-application, such as E-Booking in a hospital in order to provide citizens with the opportunity to book easily and quickly a room of their choice, with the benefits of their choice in a hospital.
... Since two aims of the renovation were to increase space available to students for study, as well as to provide furniture conducive to the way students prefer to study, we undertook an observational 'sweep study ' in 2016-2017 designed to record how the students were using the newly-reclaimed spaces, and to determine which of the furniture on the first and second floors was most in demand for student use. Given and Leckie (2003), in one the first articles to promote the use of the 'sweep study' as an analytical tool for how libraries, and the spaces within them, published the results of mixed-methods research, including seating studies, performed in 1999 in central public libraries in Toronto and Vancouver. This ground-breaking study established the basic methodology and parameters used for library sweep studies thereafter, including a checklist for patron characteristics, patron activities, library locations, and possessions in evidence. ...
... Because use of security camera footage was not an option, it was decided that the form created by Given and Leckie (2003) best suited data collection at this library. Since their study was published in the beginning of the 21 st century, types of technology needed to be updated. ...
After a recent renovation in which a variety of new and more functional tables, chairs and other furniture were purchased and distributed, four of the librarians from Bradley University’s Cullom-Davis Library performed a study of how the new furnishings were being used. This paper describes the process, issues and results of this study. In the end, conclusions were made with regard to student study groups, preferred furniture type and time-of-day/time-of-semester occupancy.
... Our book responds to this call by studying the topic through the particular lens of urban festivals. A key starting point is the belief that as with all kinds of public spaces, festivals can create opportunities for unexpected encounters (Madanipour, Knierbein and Degros, 2014), and constitute places where people are free to mingle in the company of strangers (Given and Leckie 2003). While public spaces, including the kinds of space created through festival activity, are grounded in the 'thin sociality' of fleeting encounters across societal divides, they hold the possibility that those encounters could grow into the thicker sociability of a community (Bodnar 2015). ...
This concluding chapter reflects on some of the key themes highlighted by previous chapters, but it also aims to look forward by examining how city festivals and festival cities may develop in the future. The chapter explores one of the most important dimensions of the book – the ways festivals and events might help to produce more inclusive public spaces. The authors explore whether the social and cultural value of festivals may be (re)prioritised over the economic agenda which has dominated in recent years. The contested nature of city festivals and urban festive spaces is also discussed at length, and the chapter also covers the importance of analyses that can capture the affective and sensorial effects of urban festivity. This provides the basis for a wider review of the methods employed by the authors of the chapters that feature in the book. Inevitably, given the timing of the book, there is also an attempt to highlight the implications of the Coronavirus pandemic, and the ways that urban festivity may be affected in the medium and longer terms. The chapter concludes by summarising the contribution of the book, and by making some suggestions for future research that would help us to better understand the relationships between festivals, public spaces and social inclusion.
... We also used "seating sweeps"; a kind of structured observation method previously used in studying public libraries (Given & Leckie, 2003;Ögland, 2014). This method involves developing a protocol to determine how a specific place is used by noting activities occurring there and who and what are involved. ...
This study explores how democracy—often understood as an abstract concept or a location- transcending, intangible phenomenon—is produced, shaped and continuously reshaped through local library practices in certain places and under local conditions at a specific point in time. To better understand potential conflicts and/or tensions that might arise between the three levels of Swedish library policy at a time when values enshrined in the Swedish democratic model are being challenged by political right-wing populism, we explored the potential influence on and enactment of policy documents in public libraries day-to-day practice. We did so by conducting an ethnographic study of five municipalities in Sweden’s Skåne County. Our study was theoretically informed by practice theory and the view of democracy as an ongoing process and a plurality. Our findings showed that policy documents are often internalized by library staff. The influence of the democratic mission established in the Swedish Library Act , in particular, was evident in the way library staff carried out their work. One tension created by the “democratic paradox” (i.e., the requirement that a democracy allow opponents of the democratic form of rule a voice) was evident in library policy enactments, inasmuch as librarians adopted different stances towards the neutrality norm. Thus, in practice, what appear to be rigid, inflexible policy documents are in fact plastic and mouldable. This plasticity allows room for librarians to legitimately promote democracy. Although public librarians spend much time engaging with various policy documents, they consider it time well spent and value the result. Public libraries appear as locations where different levels of cultural policy interconnect. In their role as public institutions, they also have a mission to fulfil in honoring the democratic paradox via a praxis that includes support for democracy as one of their goals.
... We expected field notes to be the term most employed by researchers despite the differences in documentation categories. Field notes refer to any form of information logged by the participant observer, and they can include: 1) written notes, audio, and video recordings of observation, casual conversations, and informal interviews; 2) counts of specific observations, such as frequency, intensity, sources of behaviors; 3) room diagrams, community maps, or process flows drawn in a chart visual; 4) lists of items, categories, and/or rules of inclusion or exclusion; 5) sensory details such as smells, sounds, textures, colors, etc.; and 6) speech and body patterns (e.g., accent, volume, cadence, body language) (Harrison, 2018;Guest et al., 2013;McKechnie, 2008 (Given & Leckie, 2003). Participant observation data is recorded in field notes, and they may be shared by researchers in their findings section. ...
The participant observation method involves numerous methodological competencies and procedures, yet no systematic research has been found to date that evaluates the qualitative practice. The method has played a foundational role in the field of journalism and is growing in use among researchers. Despite its contributions to knowledge about organizations, movements, and cultures, the procedures that encompass the method may be unfamiliar or unclear for some researchers according to the literature. The study analyzed journalism researchers' reporting of methodological information in studies involving news contexts and assessed scholars' adherence to methodological reporting best practices in 150 journal articles. The results showed participant observation researchers employed data trustworthiness techniques by primarily using qualitative formal interviews and they also provided site selection logic. The results, however, also showed evidence of methodological conceptual ambiguity when referring to participant observation method techniques and low reporting of several specific recommended techniques associated with participation observation. The narrative reflects our desire to help other researchers learn more about the method, while also encouraging methodological transparency to improve the collective understanding of the method. We put forth eight participant observation reporting recommendations rooted in anthropology and sociology to consider when reporting methodological practices. The hope is this introduction and the proposed measures will initiate discussions and support community around the practice of participant observation.
... In relation to public libraries, Given and Leckie (2003) contend that "like malls, restaurants, and many other social settings, the library provides a public space in which individuals may engage in a range of social and informational activities" (p. 365), and Felix described his school library as "a very lively space" (Felix). ...
Schools are increasingly concerned with the promotion of student wellbeing, and relatively little is known about school libraries as well- being supportive spaces in contemporary schools. This article draws on qualitative interview data from students and library managers to explore how students make use of the school library, and how this relates to the library as a safe space. It finds that school libraries can be highly valued for their capacity to foster belonging and sanctuary and allow exposure to books and opportunities for reading. Students also appreciated how libraries provided a space for relaxing and recharging, supporting lively and social activities as well as quietude. There was recognition of the role of supportive library staff, who created inviting and supportive environments with careful selection of furnishings and decorations.
... Certain factors impacting use of facilities or collections in academic libraries have been identified in the literature over the past 20 years. These include amount of space, noise level, crowdedness, comfort, type and flexibility of furniture, cleanliness, access to services and technology, and availability of collaborative space (Bailin, 2013;Cha and Kim, 2015;Gardner & Eng, 2005;Given & Leckie, 2003;Holder & Lange, 2014). Proximity to collections also affects how students make choices in the selection of information to support their assignments and coursework as well as where they physically choose to sit in the library (Julien & Michels, 2004;May & Swabey, 2015). ...
Objective – This study investigated student perceptions of an undergraduate university library’s curriculum collection, before and after a move to a new library building. The objective was to identify how factors such as proximity to program classrooms and faculty offices, flexible seating, accessibility, and other physical improvements to the space housing the collection impacted students’ perceptions.
Methods – This longitudinal study conducted between 2016 and 2017 used a combination of methods to examine whether library use of a specialized academic library collection was impacted by a significant space improvement and change in location. A cohort of education students was surveyed before and after the construction of a new building that housed both the library and their department and co-located the curriculum collection with departmental teaching spaces. The students were surveyed about their use of the space and resources. The researchers then compared the survey results to circulation data. The researchers ground this study in Lefebvre’s spatial triad theory, applying it to library design and collection use (Lefebvre, 1992).
Results – Researchers identified proximity to classrooms and general convenience as the dominant factors influencing students’ use of the collection. Survey results showed an increased awareness of the collection and an increase in use of the collection for completion of assignments and practicum work. Circulation data confirmed that between 2016-2019, there was a steady increase in use of the curriculum collection.
Conclusion – Students’ responses revealed that physical characteristics of the space were less important than proximity, the major factor that impacted their use of the curriculum collection. This revelation confirms Lefebvre’s idea that spatial practice, i.e., how users access and use the space, is more significant and identifiable to students than the design and physical characteristics of the space.
... Though there are studies on library facilities globally and in Africa, inadequate study in this area has not done. (Given & Leckie, 2003). ...
The purpose of this paper is to present the findings of the users’ perception of library facilities on quality of service at Sam Jonah Library University of Cape Coast, Ghana using Library Quality (LibQUAL) model approach. The survey used the LibQUAL+ model to evaluate quality of service at Sam Jonah Library University of Cape Coast, Ghana. The data were collected from library users by administering the LibQUAL+ questionnaire in a printed format. Using the survey design, both open-ended and close-ended questions were used to obtain data from 400 respondents, comprising of 310 and 50 undergraduate and postgraduate students, respectively and 40 faculty members. Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 was used to analyze data from the questionnaire and descriptive statistics in the form of frequencies and percentages. Inferential statistics was also used to determine the relationship between gender and adequacy of library resources. Findings from the study showed that majority of the respondents agreed that the library had adequate number of computers to meet their needs. The respondents also affirmed that the library had comfortable tables and chairs for effective learning and a space that is conducive for learning. However, postgraduate students did not consider the library environment conducive for learning. The respondents indicated that the printing materials in the library were inadequate. Students’ expectations were higher than their perceptions on what the library provided. Therefore, the researchers recommended that the library should establish knowledge commons for undergraduate students and research commons for postgraduate students.
... As such, we identified hour-long data collection periods over a span of three weeks, in which research assistants would "sweep" the entire LC to capture students' behaviors at peak, mid, and low-level occupancy rates. Research assistants were instructed in unobtrusive observation techniques, in which the observer does not intentionally make their presence known to those being observed (Given & Leckie, 2003). Observers used a paper-based template to physically document the locations of individuals, sizes of active collaborations, and if furniture had been rearranged. ...
Objective – This study sought to identify the learning needs, satisfaction levels, and preferences of students using an academic library’s learning commons. A particular focus was understanding whether the socio-collaborative environment facilitated by the learning commons was aligned with the institutional objectives of supporting intensive study and scholarly work.
Methods – A mixed methods sequential explanatory study design was used, in which quantitative findings were supplemented by qualitative findings. Data for the study were drawn from 59 hours of observations documenting behaviors of 9,249 individuals, as well as survey responses from 302 students. Three semi-structured focus groups with 10 students were held to discuss and clarify findings.
Results – Behavior mapping and survey data showed that students were largely satisfied with the learning commons and that it was considered a supportive environment for them to complete their stated tasks. Incongruity was observed between the learning commons’ intended and actual use; although 75% of spaces were designated for collaboration, 50% of survey respondents identified independent work as their primary task and 76% of individuals were observed working independently. In focus group discussions, students praised the space for its vibrant ambiance and facilitation of social connections, but acknowledged that more serious study required retreat into quieter spaces found elsewhere in the library.
Conclusion – The learning commons is an important and desirable space for students, providing a safe and community-oriented environment that is located in the center of campus. While students deemed the atmosphere successful for fostering social relationships and creating an overall sense of belonging, care needs to be taken to maintain a proper balance between quiet and collaborative spaces. The methods used in this study underscore the importance of gathering data from multiple sources, offering guidance to other libraries seeking to create, re-envision, and assess their learning spaces.
... Leckie and Hopkins (2002) conducted the very first seating sweep study in two large public libraries in Toronto and Vancouver, Canada. The study is also discussed in Given & Leckie (2003). Given and Archibald (2015) later built on this methodology integrating location data. ...
During the last decade we have seen an increased focus on the future use of academic libraries, both in terms of their legitimacy and the use of the physical library space itself.Prior to a planned, major rebuilding of the Humanities and Social Sciences Library at the University of Oslo (HumSam library), a thorough study was required to establish the current use of the library space, as well as users’ wishes and needs for change.Several different methods were used to collect this data. One was the method Tracking the Traffic (TTT), developed by Tord Høivik. This is a purely quantitative method, where the users in the library are counted several times during the opening hours. This registration takes place over a set period, for example, at fixed hours every day over a minimum time span of two weeks. The activities of the users are also registered, but without talking to the user, so one can register that one user is reading a book or using a laptop, but not what kind of book or what the laptop is being used for. Other methods used were a user survey, different kinds of interview and photo documentation.This article aims at demonstrating how the use of the TTT method contributed when the HumSam library conducted studies to ensure an evidence-based renewal of the library. The experiences with this type of data collection are described, and a discussion of the methodology based on our experiences is presented. There are also examples for how this data affected the rebuilding and renewal of the HumSam library. The TTT method needs to be a part of a suite of methods to give an adequate profile of library use. Being a method based on observation, it is necessary to compliment it with other qualitative methods to fill in the picture of library users and to ensure library development soundly based on full evidence (Evidence-based Practice – EBP).Of course, the library staff had many pre-assumptions about the library use; however, documenting use in this way may lead to more accurate knowledge.When visiting the redesigned HumSam library today, the responses to the results of the TTT and the other studies mentioned in this article can be clearly seen. The most obvious are the number and variation of seating facilities, the number of group rooms and the reduced height and number of shelves for the physical collection. Scenes and special places for events have also been created, opening hours in exam periods have been increased and the library counters have a more inviting design than before.
... They are typically physical, but for the last twenty years have also existed in digital form. The conception of place from architecture has been applied to libraries to understand social uses of library buildings [3]. However, this sheds little light on how information work is done. ...
Information interactions are strongly affected by the place where they occur. Specific locations are often associated with searches on particular topics, and individual users perform different tasks in habituated places. A classic example of habituated space is the commuter who regularly reads the news on the train. This paper investigates these associations through four user studies that examine different uses of place in information interaction. Through this, we reveal the ways in which the location of information interactions makes them effective or ineffective. This extends our interpretation of the role of place in information interaction beyond established foci such as location-based search.
... Foster and Gibbons also explore a comparison of library spaces to other on-campus environments. Given and Leckie (2003), referenced in eight articles, focuses on recording social and informational activities. Their study details spatial analysis techniques used by geographers, psychologists, and anthropologists that can be repurposed to map the physical layout of libraries and to record the activities of users. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to review a selection of articles and books that highlight aspects of spatial theory and literacy from various disciplinary perspectives, along with a review of library space studies.
Design/methodology/approach
This study reviews library literature that uses spatial literacy and its related tools. The authors searched in two databases: Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts, and SCOPUS. The paper records were analyzed to find primary research studies, published between 2010 and 2017, which study patron use of library space using various single and hybrid methodologies.
Findings
The findings of the literature reveal that of the 26 studies reviewed, 23 have a descriptive research question and three have a relational research question. Based on the analysis of the research methodologies used, there is more that can be done in support of a librarian’s research efforts as well as the arenas in which research is conducted.
Practical implications
These findings highlight ways in which library and information science researchers and those who educate them can broaden knowledge within the profession regarding spatial theory, literacy and applicable research methodologies for studying library space.
Originality/value
Current and best practices for designing library space studies that use spatial literacy to collect and analyze data are identified along with a discussion of future directions for researchers to better assess space and communicate the value of physical space in libraries.
... A review of past winners of the Association for Library and Information Science's (2017) ALISE/ProQuest Methodology Paper Award, for example, outlines card-sorting, observational 'traffic sweeps' (discussed above), and vignettes as just a few of the data collection tools to gain attention in recent years. Chapter 17: Observation, reported a 'traffic sweeps' project (Given & Leckie, 2003). Examples of other data-gathering tools, recently taken up in LIS, are 'think aloud protocol' and 'transaction log analysis' (Chu, 2015). ...
This chapter is unusual in that it departs somewhat from the pattern of authorship and content in the rest of this book. The editors begin the chapter with a re-examination of some of the key themes of the book, for example, the focus on methodology as the entire framework or design of research: the choice of paradigm, methods and tools or techniques to explore research questions and to create new knowledge. The necessity for rigour in every stage of research is emphasised. Having stated reservations about efforts to gaze into a crystal ball, to predict a specific future for information research, the editors then draw on their own knowledge, as well as that of other expert researchers, specialists in specific areas, to help to identify future paradigms, research methods and data collection tools; the effects of big data; the role of cultural differences in future research; and the delicate (but essential) balance of keeping research relevant to professional practice, and vice versa. The main points of the chapter are illustrated with up-todate examples, including an account of a fascinating PhD thesis which combines a postmodern paradigm, second generation (constructivist) grounded theory, and innovative data collection techniques. © 2018 Kirsty Williamson, Graeme Johanson, Alex Byrne, Lisa M. Given, Mary Anne Kennan, and Gillian Oliver. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
... (1985, Sanoff (1992), Zeisel (1995), Tantan (1996), Öymen Gür (1996, Tilley et all. (1996), Shepley and Wilson (1999), Dinç and Onat (2002), Given and Leckie (2003), Karen and Tranter (2003), Yıldız (2004), Zacharias et al. (2004), Malkoç (2008)'den yararlanılmıştır (Çizelge 2). Çizelge 1. Gözlem gün ve periyodları ile gözlem yapan yardımcı araştırıcı sayısı -Bulgular ve Analiz Bu aşama, görsel analiz ve gözlem formları yardımıyla elde edilen bulguların işlendiği aşamadır. ...
In this study in which Bornova Cumhuriyet Square has taken into account as a social life environment; it has been examined that if the place can provide a new image and lifestyle to the city by using its potential as well as it has offered its users the opportunity to live in a higher quality environment. According to this aim, benefited from the Ege University Faculty of Agriculture Department of Landscape Architecture undergraduate senior students - as individuals who have previously used the place at different times - as an assistant research group. The success criteria, effective in creating a qualitative living environment, have been determined as; activity and usage, accessibility, comfort - image and sociability, the square which was redesigned and turn on usage in 2007, was evaluated with the help of yes/no and scale questions including these main topics. In the second part of the study, the research area was observed by the same student group at various days and hours of the week, activity - intensity analyzes were performed by determining which parts of the square were used and which parts were not used. Through these studies, the extent of the relationship between the perception of the space and the determined quality criteria was questioned and development strategies were put forward to increase the space's success.
... (1985, Sanoff (1992), Zeisel (1995), Tantan (1996), Öymen Gür (1996, Tilley et all. (1996), Shepley and Wilson (1999), Dinç and Onat (2002), Given and Leckie (2003), Karen and Tranter (2003), Yıldız (2004), Zacharias et al. (2004), Malkoç (2008)'den yararlanılmıştır (Çizelge 2). -Bulgular ve Analiz Bu aşama, görsel analiz ve gözlem formları yardımıyla elde edilen bulguların işlendiği aşamadır. ...
Bu çalışmada, tarımsal üretimin yoğun olarak yapıldığı İzmir ilinde yetiştirilen bazı bitkiler için bitki su tüketimi değerleri ile sulama programları belirlenmeye çalışılmıştır. Sulama programlarının oluşturulmasındaki toprak-su bütçesi yaklaşımı, yöre koşullarına uygun sulama planlarının elde edilmesinde ve farklı koşullarda ortaya çıkacak değişimlerin belirlenmesinde kullanılmaktadır. Bu amaçla çalışmada, İzmir yöresi için referans bitki su tüketimi değerleri Penman-Monteith (FAO Modifikasyonu) yöntemi ile hesaplanmıştır. Sulama zaman planlarının oluşturulmasında, yetiştirilen herhangi bir bitki için bölgenin iklim ve toprak koşulları, yetiştirilen bitkinin karakteristikleri, çiftçi istekleri ve kullanılan sulama yöntemi ile sulama sisteminin özelliklerini göz önüne alarak yeterli su koşullarında sulama planları elde edilmesini sağlayan IRSIS bilgisayar yazılımı kullanılmıştır.
... Observation can also be considered as being on a continuum from structured to unstructured. Structured observation relies on the use of category systems (Martinko & Gardner, 1985) and can generate detailed quantitative data as in Given and Leckie's (2004) "seating sweeps" of two Canadian central libraries. At the other end of the spectrum, those undertaking unstructured observation-a key method in anthropological and ethnographic research-approach an observation with few predetermined ideas about what to observe, but their focus may change based on their experiences in the field (Mulhall, 2003). ...
This study explores how preschool storytimes in public libraries in Aotearoa New Zealand incorporate practices which have been identified as beneficial for children's early literacy skills. The results of observations of storytimes in four public library services are reported, focusing on whether they included activities that foster six key literacy skills: print motivation; phonological awareness; vocabulary; narrative skills; print awareness and print concepts; and letter awareness. The results indicate that the storytimes observed focused strongly on techniques to increase children's print motivation, and other skills, such as the development of letter awareness, did not feature as frequently. It is suggested that the librarians leading the sessions were wary of introducing more formal instructional elements into the storytimes because they felt it might detract from the main aim of the sessions, which was to encourage children to enjoy books and reading.
Link to full text: https://authors.elsevier.com/a/1VRbm2eSLIOtht
... In assessing the use of space, the URI assessment team devised a strategy consistent with McCarthy and Nitecki (2011), Given and Leckie (2004), and Applegate (2009). The URI researchers identified the use of library space with sweep counts and structured observations of activities and behaviors. ...
Full article available at https://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/EBLIP/article/view/28557/21248
Objective - To determine student use of library spaces, the authors recorded student location and behaviors within the Library, to inform future space design.
Methods - The case study method was used with both quantitative and qualitative measures. The authors had two objectives to guide this assessment of library spaces: 1) To determine what library spaces are being used by students and whether students are working individually, communally, or collaboratively and 2) To determine whether students use these spaces for learning activities and/or social engagement.
Results - After data collection and analysis, the authors determined students are using individual or communal spaces almost equally as compared with collaborative group spaces. Data also revealed peak area usage and times.
Conclusion - Observed student individual and social work habits indicate further need for spaces with ample electrical outlets and moveable tables. Further study is recommended to see whether additional seating and renovated spaces continue to enhance informal learning communities at URI and whether the Library is becoming a “third place” on campus.
... The very fact that eresources can be widely and quickly distributed through networked databases may actually hinder their uptake by researchers who have grown to depend upon more tangible and spatially determinate information resources. Given and Leckie have shown that physical proximity, the accessibility of a book on the shelf, remains the single greatest determinant of which sources researchers cite in their work (Given and Leckie 2003). Moreover, Martin and QuanHaase found in a controlled study that 15 out of 20 historians tested thought that the tactile element of browsing was an integral part of the serendipitous experience (Martin and QuanHaase 2013). ...
Résumé Humanities scholars have long claimed the importance of browsing in the library stacks as part of their research process. The digitization practices of libraries and archives, while meant to assist with preservation and access, make the physical browsing experience impossible. While there have been various attempts to recreate this experience online, none as yet has created a digital tool which users can interact with as they move through the physical material in the library. This paper aims to introduce the concept of the Serendipitous Tool for Augmenting Knowledge (STAK), a geolocative app that allows users to access material complementary to what they are looking at on library shelves. The authors outline the research behind STAK, the potential for locative media and augmented reality in libraries, and the design requirements for STAK. Finally, they outline two elements of serendipity that they hope to emulate in STAK: Noticing, and Capture and Recall. By enhancing the physical collection with digital information, STAK aims to bring scholars the best of both worlds, and to encourage them to return to the physical library to explore, learn, and browse. Depuis longtemps, les chercheurs des sciences humaines soulignent l'importance dans leur processus de recherche de parcourir des ouvrages dans les rayons des bibliothèques. Bien que les pratiques de numérisation des bibliothèques et des archives aient pour objet d'aider la préservation et l'accès, elles rendent aussi impossible l'expérience de la consultation physique sur place. Il y a bien eu diverses tentatives pour recréer cette expérience en ligne, mais aucune n'a jusqu'à présent créé un outil numérique avec lequel les usagers peuvent interagir alors qu'ils consultent physiquement la documentation dans la bibliothèque. Cet article vise à introduire le concept de Serendipitous Tool for Augmenting Knowledge (STAK) (Outil fortuit pour l'enrichissement de la connaissance), une application géo locative qui permet aux usagers d'avoir accès à une documentation complémentaire à celle qu'ils recherchent dans les rayons de la bibliothèque. Les auteurs présentent la recherche motivant STAK, le potentiel des médias locatifs et de la réalité enrichie dans les bibliothèques, et les exigences de la conception de STAK. Enfin, ils soulignent deux éléments d'heureux hasard qu'ils espèrent imiter dans STAK: Constater, et Saisir et Rappeler. En optimisant la collection physique au moyen de l'information numérique, STAK vise à apporter aux chercheurs le meilleur des deux mondes, et à les encourager à retourner dans la bibliothèque physique pour explorer, apprendre et parcourir les ouvrages.
Purpose
The multitasking phenomenon has been prevailing in the technology-driven information environment. People are engaged in multitasking to process information and deal with personal and professional information tasks. This study aims to explore the external predictors of multitasking information behavior (MIB) of library and information science (LIS) professionals from Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a quantitative study based on a questionnaire survey, and data was collected through Google Form; the link was shared via e-mail and WhatsApp to get maximum responses. The sampling includes the LIS professionals working in Higher Education Commission-recognized universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Pakistan. A total of 126 responses were received from 41 universities of KPK.
Findings
Pearson correlation and regression were applied by using SPSS for data analysis. The findings revealed that time pressure (TP) is a good predictor of multitasking because when professionals got tasks with deadlines, they try to perform multiple activities at a time. Therefore, TP is a predictor of human MIB. This study also revealed that the work environment is a less significant predictor of MIB, and the use of multiple information resources is a weak predictor of MIB. It is noted that individual covariates were not predictors of the multitasking information. However, TP was the most significant predictor among all the contextual and individual factors predicting MIB.
Research limitations/implications
This research line is significant because MIB is a new dimension of human information behavior among LIS professionals. The findings are beneficial for LIS professionals to increase their work productivity and performance by rationalizing the significant predictors.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no such study is available that highlighted the MIB among LIS professionals. Therefore, this study will highlight external factors’ effects on LIS professionals’ MIB. This study will contribute to the literature on libraries and information management as this study describes the LIS professionals’ behavior.
Music festivals have the potential to connect people, foster tolerance and are therefore often perceived as inclusive spaces. At the same time, previous research has shown that festival spaces can be exclusionary spaces, where social inequalities are aggravated. While festivals have dynamics of their own, they are organised on the basis of a specific vision (mission statement) which translates into the programming, staffing, organization and marketing of a festival. Festival organisers play an important role in the creation of festival spaces and the mechanisms of inclusion and exclusion. For positive encounters to occur within festivals and for people to share in the positive atmosphere of the festival, they must be planned and managed. This chapter therefore aims to explore to what extent and how music festival organisers deal with diversity in their everyday practices. We therefore investigate 1) discussing diversity: what meaning do festival organisers attach to the concept of diversity; 2) organising diversity: how they deal with diversity throughout the festival organisation process, and 3) implementing diversity: the difficulties and tensions perceived in making diverse festivals. This chapter is based on a study of ten music festivals in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. This city is often perceived as a festival city and a ‘superdiverse’ city, making it the perfect case to study dynamics of inclusion and exclusion as perceived by music festival organisers.
Istanbul is one of the largest and most dynamic metropolises on the European continent. In the context of processes of globalization and local urban planning projects urban space is continously contested. In this anthology forms, meanings and images of these urban spaces are discussed by architects, historians, and social scientists. Through interdisciplinary approaches of theory and case studies the book delivers a deep insight into the construction and constitution of public spaces and spheres in contemporary Istanbul.
The COVID-19 crisis has had a significant impact on public libraries around the world. In Australia, almost all public libraries experienced some period of building closure, requiring libraries to adapt their services and delivery models. This article reports findings from a large-scale survey of public library managers in Australia, which was conducted in August 2020. In particular, it presents the results of a thematic analysis of the participants’ free-text responses to open questions asked as part of the survey. This analysis reveals important insights relating to responses to library closures, staffing issues, new and expanded services and programmes, relationships with parent bodies, and the role of public libraries during the crisis and beyond. While public libraries are perceived by managers to have been agile and adaptable, and to have utilised technology effectively, the findings clearly demonstrate the value to users of library buildings, with important consequences for understanding the role of public libraries.
In Chapter 21, Evgenia Vasilakaki and Valentini Moniarou-Papaconstantinou pro�vide a useful list of the main transitions, summarized here as:
● Shift to teleworking
● Promotion of existing online information services—e-journals, e-books, databases, material
from digital libraries, and institutional repositories
● Greater use of websites, social media accounts, e-learning platforms
● Support for online requests for digitization
● Online distribution of material
- Development and promotion of online information literacy programmes and courses
● Enhancement of users’ digital information competencies
● Response to the need for information on COVID-19
● Support for users in the identification of fake news
Istanbul is one of the largest and most dynamic metropolises on the European continent. In the context of processes of globalization and local urban planning projects urban space is continously contested. In this anthology forms, meanings and images of these urban spaces are discussed by architects, historians, and social scientists. Through interdisciplinary approaches of theory and case studies the book delivers a deep insight into the construction and constitution of public spaces and spheres in contemporary Istanbul.
Recent ethnographic research of physical academic library spaces demonstrates that students often utilize these spaces quite differently than the library’s staff may have originally intended. Student feedback in library remodeling efforts improves design outcomes and helps to foster a sense of student engagement with the larger academic community. This article reports the results of a library building space study at the William Allen White Library building, Emporia State University. The study had three objectives: 1) To learn more about the present utilization of the library building by students in terms of its physical space; 2) To discover how students’ library space preferences for individual and group study, recreation, cultural programs/events, and other aspects of academic life are influenced by the current library building space; and 3) To provide qualitative and quantitative evidence from students for more informed decisions about future library building projects.
The relevance of public libraries in the twenty-first century will depend on prioritizing access to information through the provision of space to spur inclusive development. Public libraries in Harare are struggling to provide for the diverse and dynamic needs of users. This is evidenced by the high number of school-going users frequenting these places because of the limited number of well-resourced school libraries especially in marginalised communities. Public libraries are providing for the information needs of communities and schools in order to enhance inclusivity. It has become imperative for public librarians to rethink, reinvent, and re-profile their services to meet the growing, diverse, and dynamic needs of users. The article explores the extent to which public libraries can incorporate cultural responsive services for the benefit of users. It will examine how public libraries can rethink and reconfigure their services and space to accommodate inter-cultural and inter-generational dialogue. It will recommend strategies for balanced inclusivity in the accessibility of public library services.
Purpose
Public libraries' relevance and raison d'être towards society is an often discussed subject within public, politics and research. The objective of this systematic literature review is to provide a synthesis of empirical studies of stakeholders' perceived values of public libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
The review is based on a structured literature search that was conducted in seven databases. Two independent participants carried out a two-step screening of the identified studies. Firstly, the studies were screened on basis of title and abstract. Secondly, studies that were included in the title–abstract screening were full-text screened. Conflicting studies were discussed, and consensus between the reviewers was reached. Citation searches of each included study were conducted along with scrutinising cited literature. The included studies were subject to a risk of bias assessment on basis of a developed risk of the bias tool, and qualitative analysis was provided.
Findings
Of all, 4,086 studies were screened and 19 were retained for the review. The studies consisted of both quantitative and qualitative investigations of different stakeholders in a variety of countries. The reported values varied across the studies and stakeholders.
Originality/value
This is the first study that systematically reviews empirical literature that explores stakeholders' perceived values of public libraries. The paper suggests further recommendations for empirical research of values connected to public libraries.
پژوهش حاضر با هدف ارتقای سطح کیفی و کمی طراحی کتابخانه های عمومی شهر تهران انجام شده است. روش: پژوهش حاضر از نوع کاربردی و با رویکرد کیفی و کمی است. جمعآوری داده ها با استفاده از مصاحبه نیمه ساختاریافته و پرسشنامه محقق ساخته انجام شده است. دامنه مکانی پژوهش، کتابخانه های عمومی شهر تهران و دامنه زمانی آن اردیبهشت و خرداد سال ۱۳۹۱ است. پس از جمعآوری داده ها، مصاحبه ها مکتوب و برای تحلیل آنها از روش تحلیل محتوای کیفی و پرسشنامه ها نیز با استفاده از روش های آماری و به کمک نرم افزار spss مورد تحلیل قرار گرفتند. یافته ها: نتایج پژوهش نشان دادکتابداران شاغل در کتابخانه های عمومی تهران از وضعیت طراحی کتابخانه رضایت ندارند و میزان اشتیاق خود را به طراحی کتابخانه ابراز داشتند. علی رغم میزان اشتیاق کتابداران در طراحی کتابخانه ها نه تنها از آنها نظرخواهی نمی شود؛ بلکه به پیشنهادهایی که برای جذابسازی کتابخانه ارائه می دهند نیز بهایی داده نمی شود. کتابداران مهم ترین موانع موجود بر سر راه طراحی کتابخانه را سازمان مادر و وسایل و تجهیزات کتابخانه بیان داشتند. همچنین نتایج نشان داد میزان رضایت کاربران از مؤلفه هایی که در طراحی کتابخانه ها الزامی هستند در اکثریت موارد پایین و در موارد کمتر در حد متوسط بوده است و به ندرت از مؤلفه های در نظر گرفته در طراحی رضایت داشتند. اصالت/ارزش: بررسی پیشینه ها حاکی از آن است که تاکنون پژوهشی با موضوع طراحی کتابخانه های عمومی و بررسی میزان رضایت کتابداران و کاربران انجام نشده است.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to summarize a library use study of the central and community branches of a Canadian public library. An exit survey documented the in-branch activities of users as a part of a library strategic planning process. Survey results were used in combination with branch statistics, postal code circulation statistics, neighbourhood demographics and other data sources to document the in-library use of the two facilities.
Design/methodology/approach
Questionnaires were administered to library users 15 years of age or older at the exits of the central and community branches. The survey collected data on their activities and services used during their current visit. Additional sources such as branch-level statistics, furniture tally sheets, photographs, Canada Census data and circulation analysis by patron postal code and lending branch were used during the analysis stage.
Findings
Both branches are heavily used but in different ways. Branch circulation and gate count per square foot of floor space were high relative to other Canadian libraries. Patron visits to the community branch were short in duration, in line with previous public library studies. User visit duration and in-library activities within the main branch somewhat resembled those of the central branch of a larger library system but likely for different reasons.
Research limitations/implications
The study was exploratory. Data were collected during two coinciding days of library operation, a Thursday and a Saturday, and may not be representative of the underlying population. The study was limited in scope as it was a community service project for undergraduate university students.
Practical implications
Branch library use surveys, in combination with library statistics and demographics, can provide useful insights concerning in-library patron behaviour when the use of ethnographic techniques is not feasible.
Originality/value
The study explored differences and similarities in user behaviour in two types of library facilities, a central and a community branch. Few published studies make such a direct comparison. The study explored the perceived benefits received by patrons from public library use and incorporated branch statistics, circulation analysis and Census data.
Academic libraries are a vital space for collaboration, socialization, research, and quiet study. To support these needs, they must offer a variety of environments, noise levels, and furniture to support varying student needs. However, it can be difficult to understand these specific needs and properly balance the types of spaces and seating alternatives to optimally meet them. This article describes a space usage study undertaken to determine patron needs and preferences and the resulting visualization of the data using Tableau Public. The project provided important insights into patron space preferences and use, and the methodology can be replicated at other institutions.
The Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology at NYU-Tandon School of Engineering adopted an assessment methodology that was central to the librarians’ understanding of current environmental issues and their attempts to craft a better user experience. This method of gauging and analyzing occupancy revealed problem areas and was an invaluable tool in efforts to adopt the best solutions to problems it highlighted. It involved minimal cost: a data collection application and Microsoft Paint, and student labor for collecting occupancy counts. The data it provided enabled the library to improve services, redesign learning spaces, and improve outreach activities.
The exterior environments of libraries are sites rich for study, as they often hold histories of inequality that affect present-day access and use in complex, layered ways. The particularities of the environment through which community members pass before entering a library have an impact on the experience within the library. If libraries wish to remain public spaces dedicated to the strengthening of democracy, they should extend their focus beyond their walls to the surrounding neighborhood. This study puts into conversation the fields of spatial rhetorics, accessibility, and critical geography. Four topoi were developed to assess the accessibility of exterior library spaces. These topoi are wayfinding signage, building signage, wheelchair accessibility, and cultural landscape. These topoi are applied to the examination of library sites in a French city and a rural library district in Michigan. The recommendations resulting from this study include an examination of spatial rhetorics and a geo-spatial survey.
A recent focus in academic library design is as a third place: a home from home. Research has yet to interrogate what it means to be “at home,, and if academic libraries are treated like, and feel like home to students. Seamon’s model provides a framework for understanding the qualities associated with homeness, across the five dimensions of rootedness, appropriation, regeneration, at-easeness, and warmth. Using this framework observations were made in two libraries using categories relating to “homeness.” It was found that students do act and feel at home in the library. Newer library designs did not facilitate homeness more than older designs. It is concluded that new library designs have the opportunity to make students feel at home by offering flexible spaces to make their own, places to retreat from their desk, and basic amenities.
A közkönyvtári terek könyvtárhasználók általi használatának vizsgálatára több, részben geográfiai, részben pedig szociológiai és pszichológiai alapokon nyugvó vizsgálati módszert fejlesztettek ki az elmúlt évtizedekben. Írásomban a könyvtárakban leggyakrabban használt módszereket mutatom be. / In recent decades, several methods have been developed for the analysis of library spaces from the point of how library users use them, based partly on geographic, partly on sociological and psychological foundations. The article presents the methods most frequently used in libraries.
This chapter focusses on the rich and varied approaches to observation as a technique or tool available to researchers. The flexibility of observation enables it to be used in a range of different research methods, often in combination with other techniques such as interviews. There is also a variety of kinds of observation, including structured or unstructured forms The chapter discusses the various ways in which 'participation' has been conceptualised, focussing on different observer roles as well as levels of participation, from non-participation to complete participation. Examples provide illustration. Ways of undertaking observation are also discussed, for example, gaining entry to a setting, selecting a sample and data collection techniques which includes note taking. Validity and reliability, together with ethical issues, specifically focussed on observation, are also within the scope of the chapter. © 2018 Kirsty Williamson. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Objective – By collecting and analyzing evidence from three data points, researchers sought to understand how library spaces are used. Researchers have used results for evidence based decision making regarding physical library spaces.
Methods – Undergraduate researchers, sociology faculty, and librarians used mixed-methods to triangulate findings. Seating sweeps were used to map patrons’ activities in the library. Student-led focus groups discussed patterns of library use, impressions of facilities, and library features and services. The final step included a campus survey developed from seating sweeps and focus group findings.
Results – Seating sweeps showed consistent use of the library's main level Learning Commons and upper level quiet spaces; the library’s multipurpose lower level is under-utilized. Students use the main level of the library for collaborative learning, socializing, reading, and computer use. Students use the upper level for quiet study and group work in study rooms. Focus group findings found library use is task-specific. For example, a student may work with classmates on a project using the main level Learning Commons during the day, and then come back at night to use the quiet floor for test preparation. Survey responses highlighted areas in which the library is deficient. For example, respondents cited crowdedness, noise levels, and temperature concerns.
Conclusion – These data offer empirical evidence for library space needs. Some data aligns with previous space studies conducted at this library: access to power outlets, lighting, noise, and an outdated environment. Evidence also supports anecdotal concerns of crowding, graduate students lacking designated study space, and the need for quiet study space away from group study space.
This article contributes to the burgeoning literature on airports, addressing a current gap between literature that focuses on the cosmopolitical experience of the airport and that which focuses on the potentially dehumanising impacts of a technologized, securitised border by investigating the ethos of the space. We do not present an account of how the airport ought to work; rather, we consider what ethical relations and subjectivities are constructed, encouraged and made (im)possible in the airport space. We argue that the airport border assembles a variety of commercial, security and spatial technologies in areas of both ‘flow’ and ‘dwell’ which generate and privilege a particular type of ethical subject – the temporarily suspended, atomised individual. We begin with an understanding of space as produced through plurality and movement, and analyse how atomisation is produced and sustained before reflecting on the potentially dangerous implications of such processes.
Instead of presenting a research agenda, this article identifies five challenges of importance to anyone conducting research or wanting to use the results for planning or decision-making purposes. Four general areas that, over time, library researchers have often examined are viewed in terms of these challenges. Coping with these challenges is important as the profession continues to produce theoretical and action research. ©, Published with license by Taylor & Francis.
This paper argues that an architectural geography should be about more than just representation. For both as a practice and a product architecture is performative in the sense that is involves ongoing social practices through which space is continually shaped and inhabited. I examine previous geographies or architecture from the Berkeley School to political semiotics, and argue that geographers have had relatively little to say about the practical and affective or 'nonrepresentational' import of architecture. I use the controversy over Vancouver's new Public Library building as a springboard for considering how we might conceive of a more critical and politically progressive geography of architecture. The library's Colosseum design recalls the origins of western civilizagion, and is seen by some Vancouverites to be an insensitive representation of multicultural city of the Pacific, I seek to push geographers beyond this contemplative framing of architectural form towards a more active and embodied engagement with the lived building.
Compared sociobehavioral patterns in a large multipurpose center with those in a typical shopping center by observing personal characteristics and behavior of sedentary individuals at specified points and times and by recording the sequence of behavior on individual benches. Five age groups were observed and personal interviews were conducted with 54 elderly Ss. Both centers were found to perform a community role in that people, especially elderly people, were attracted to the centers for recreational purposes. Social activity was evident in both centers, although the intensity of use throughout the week and the characteristics of the sedentary population varied between the centers. Design considerations (i.e., central focus, sitting at key entrances, personal choice in sitting arrangements) are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
An appropriate image of the person for geographers is an entity with fluctuating boundaries that reach through space and time in constantly changing patterns. Such extensions through space and time are not merely “internal” or psychological states of being in the world; they are integral to economic, political, and cultural processes. Human extensibility is fundamental to the ongoing processes of social structuration in which social practices are constitutive of social structures and social structures constrain persons and practices. Whereas the body is a point‐entity located at a particular space‐time, important aspects of personhood are not confined to this point entity. Authority depends on ranges of sensation, knowledge, and action through diverse communication systems. While extensibility is partly determined by the body, as categorized by society, the distinction between presence and absence can be considered as a gradation rather than a binary opposition. Extensibility transcends the body, allowing a person to overcome social and physical limitations and to participate in distant social contexts which affect his or her personal situation and shape social processes.
Intended as a main text for general human geography courses at universities and colleges, the book begins by investigating the interaction between geography and behaviour, and the macro-scale approaches to understanding human behaviour in the environment. The section on micro-scale approaches covers environmental information, decision making and environmental perception. Detailed consideration is given to the main behavioural perspectives in human geography, including consumer behaviour, urban living, industrial location, natural hazards, leisure and recreation, stress and pathology, migration and residential mobility, and voting behaviour. The book concludes with a survey of humanistic approaches to the study of behaviour in the environment.-after Authors
A review of hospital planning over the years reveals that the underlying assumptions of planners, designers, and researchers are best seen as constituting a process of evolution. Such assumptions have evolved in conjunction with, although granted at sometimes not a completely simultaneous pace, the social and philosophical theories/paradigms/revolutions of the respective many periods. Both the building types and methods of treatment thought appropriate for persons who were sick were tied closely to the changing perceptions of what exactly sickness and health were and what were their causal factors.
A telephone survey of library users and nonusers was conducted in one county of a Southwestern state. Prediction of li- brary use versus nonuse and three aspects of library use (frequency, diversity, and duration) were each based upon different groups of variables. Five types of library use were defined. Present patterns of library use and emerging library-related opportunities suggest that a more accurate description of public librarians could be opportunity providers rather than information providers.
An appropriate image of the person for geographers is an entity with fluctuating boundaries that reach through space and time in constantly changing patterns. Such extensions through space and time are not merely “internal” or psychological states of being in the world; they are integral to economic, political, and cultural processes. Human extensibility is fundamental to the ongoing processes of social structuration in which social practices are constitutive of social structures and social structures constrain persons and practices. Whereas the body is a point-entity located at a particular space-time, important aspects of personhood are not confined to this point entity. Authority depends on ranges of sensation, knowledge, and action through diverse communication systems. While extensibility is partly determined by the body, as categorized by society, the distinction between presence and absence can be considered as a gradation rather than a binary opposition. Extensibility transcends the body, allowing a person to overcome social and physical limitations and to participate in distant social contexts which affect his or her personal situation and shape social processes.
Coauthor of two widely cited manuals on public library planning and evaluation says continued reliance on the works may be detrimental and suggests five additional areas to include in a revised planning manual: future visioning; locally developed service roles; planning for technology; managing evaluation data; and community needs assessment. (Contains five references.) (KRN)
Drawing on examples from throughout the world, the volume chronicles the development of the behavioural approach and provides a state-of-the-art survey of its different components and areas where the approach has had its most useful applications. Chapters focus on such themes as spatial cognition, time-path analysis, consumer behaviour, migration in a behavioural context, the residential location decision process and residential aspirations, stressors and search behaviour. -J.Sheail
The last decade has seen a relative boom in the construction of central public libraries across North America. The social roles these public institutions play for society is a pressing issue in light of decreasing public funding, advancing information technologies, and an economy increasingly information-driven and decentralized. This article examines the public's use of two of Canada's largest central libraries, the Toronto Reference Library and the Vancouver Public Library Central Branch. The data gathered support the notion that these libraries fulfill many of the normative ideals of a successful public place and serve as important resources in the increasingly information-driven, knowledge-based economy. We conclude that private market interests encroaching upon this institution, and not advances in information technologies, represent a threat to its multifaceted role as a successful public place.
Environmental psychology: Behaviour and experience in context
- T Cassidy
Cassidy, T. (1997). Environmental psychology: Behaviour and experience in context. Hove, UK: Psychology Press.
The lived-day of an individual: A person-environment perspective
- Craik
Craik, K. (2000). The lived-day of an individual: A person-environment perspective. In W. B. Walsh, K. H. Criak, & R. H. Price (Eds.), Person-environment psychology: New directions and perspectives (2nd ed.) pp. 233 – 266).
Observation: The world under a glass
- R B Bechtel
- R W Marans
- W Michelson
Bechtel, R. B., Marans, R. W., & Michelson, W. (1987). Observation: The world under a glass. In R. B. Bechtel, R. W. Marans, & W. Michelson (Eds.), Methods in environmental and behavioral research ( pp. 11 – 40). New York: Van Nostrand.
The library's public: A report of the public library inquiry The community role of public indoor space
- B D Berelson
- P Sijpkes
- M Maclean
Berelson, B. (1949). The library's public: A report of the public library inquiry. New York: Columbia University Press. Brown, D., Sijpkes, P., & Maclean, M. (1986). The community role of public indoor space. Journal of Architec-tural and Planning Research, 3, 161 – 172.
Landscapes of myths and elsewhereness: West Edmonton Mall. Unpublished doctoral dis-sertation Human spatial behavior: A social geography
- J Hopkins
Hopkins, J. (1992). Landscapes of myths and elsewhereness: West Edmonton Mall. Unpublished doctoral dis-sertation, McGill University, Montreal, Canada. Jakle, J. A., Brunn, S., & Roseman, C. C. (1976). Human spatial behavior: A social geography. North Scituate, MA: Duxbury Press.
What about people in regional science? Papers and Proceedings of the Regional Science Association
- T Hagerstrand
Hagerstrand, T. (1970). What about people in regional science? Papers and Proceedings of the Regional Science Association, 24, 7 – 21.
Landscapes of myths and elsewhereness: West Edmonton Mall. Unpublished doctoral dissertation
- J Hopkins
Hopkins, J. (1992). Landscapes of myths and elsewhereness: West Edmonton Mall. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
Human spatial behavior: A social geography
- J A Jakle
- S Brunn
- C C Roseman
Jakle, J. A., Brunn, S., & Roseman, C. C. (1976). Human spatial behavior: A social geography. North Scituate,
MA: Duxbury Press.
Public library support for groups and users Reinvention of the public library for the 21st century
- L A Payne
Payne, L. A. (1998). Public library support for groups and users. In W. L. Whitesides (Ed.), Reinvention of the
public library for the 21st century ( pp. 83 – 94). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Statistical Package for the Social Sciences Ver. 8 (SPSS 8.0). SPSS, Chicago.
The geography of hospitals: A developing approach to the architectural planning of hospitals Theoretical perspectives in environment-behavior research: Underlying assumptions, research problems and methodologies
- Y Nagasawa
Nagasawa, Y. (2000). The geography of hospitals: A developing approach to the architectural planning of
hospitals. In S. Wapner, J. Demick, T. Yamamoto, & H. Minami (Eds.), Theoretical perspectives in environment-behavior research: Underlying assumptions, research problems and methodologies ( pp. 217 – 227). New
York: Kluwer Academic.
Mapping spatial data
- Cromley
Observation: The world under a glass
- Bechtel
The geography of hospitals: A developing approach to the architectural planning of hospitals
- Nagasawa
Public library support for groups and users
- Payne