Use of collaborative spaces in an academic library

With the design of new libraries increasingly emphasizing support for collaborative activity, librarians need to understand how and why their users are working together in library spaces. No published studies quantify the impact of collaborative spaces in academic libraries on student learning behaviors. The objective of this study was to determine how and why the collaborative spaces in an academic library were used, and how well the observed use matched the intent of the people who designed and managed the spaces. The study was conducted in the Fall of 2005 at a recently built academic library in New England that was designed with over 70% of seating allocated for collaborative use. The primary data collection methods were observation and interviews. Observation sessions were conducted using a sweeps methodology. Approximately 20% of the observed users were interviewed. Undergraduate students made up 95% of the observed population and third year students were the most frequently observed class. Seventy nine percent of those interviewed visited the library two or more times per week. The mean length of visit for

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