Conduciveness to Scholarship: The Essence of Academic Library as Place

Abstract

The dawn of the Internet era has prompted many researchers to investigate changes in the use of academic libraries, but most studies explore student use, rather than faculty use, of library space. In contrast, this study surveys use of the academic library space among faculty and doctoral students and explores the phenomenological differences between using library space and using the library remotely. The authors hypothesized that older scholars (by age and by “scholarly age,” as measured by the year in which the scholar’s last academic degree was earned) would report greater use of the physical library and less use of the library’s electronic resources and would make more positive statements about the physical space than would younger scholars. In three of the four major themes that emerged from the qualitative survey data, this hypothesis is supported. However, in the fourth theme, “conduciveness to scholarship,” the opposite position was supported. Younger scholars were far more likely than older scholars to make statements reflecting the idea that the physical library is a unique place that facilitates the kind of concentration necessary for doing serious scholarly work.

Academic Libraries: “Social” or “Communal?” The Nature and Future of Academic Libraries

“…37 That younger faculty value the contemplative aspects of the communal academic library as much as students is further evidence that the social library model is an incomplete, if not inaccurate model for the future of the academic library.…”

Navigating User Feedback Channels to Chart an Evidence Based Course for Library Redesign

“…Another segment of the literature has focused on user-driven library design, with data collected chiefly through the use of surveys (Antell & Engel, 2006;Vaska, Chan, & Powelson, 2009;Walton, 2006). Vaska et al (2009) andWalton (2006) collected feedback with a single user survey.…”

The Measureable Effects of Closing a Branch Library: Circulation, Instruction, and Service Perception

“…For example, Karen Antell and Debra Engel discovered, contrary to their expectations, that younger scholars more than older scholars felt that the library was a valuable place for scholarship and contemplation. 5 Likewise, Jeffrey T. Gayton notes, "If gate counts are rising while print circulation and use of reference services are falling, users must be finding something else of value in academic libraries. What they value is a place to engage in communal study."…”