Daylighting Concepts for University Libraries and Their Influences on Users' Satisfaction

“Good Fences Make Good Neighbors”: Territorial Dividers Increase User Satisfaction and Efficiency in Library Study Spaces

“…Because the main purpose of this pilot study was to obtain a better understanding of the problem to be tackled in further studies, we were basically interested in the general trends suggested by those observations. Therefore, rather than providing detailed information here, we summarize the main trends observed: (a) students generally chose not to use an occupied table (for four) even if there were multiple seats available, in line with past studies (e.g., Applegate, 2009;DeClercq & Cranz, 2014;Foster & Gibbons, 2007;Xia, 2005); (b) students generally chose to sit diagonally across from other students instead of sitting next to them or directly across, in line with past studies (Eastman & Harper, 1971;Gal et al, 1986;Sommer, 1965); (c) students generally preferred seats next to windows, in congruence with earlier findings (e.g., Applegate, 2009;Kilic & Hasirci, 2011); (d) a typical student covered more space than would be allotted to one person; (e) many students (about one-third of all students in the hall) used computers, and needed plugs and internet access; some students listened to music with earphones; (f) students rarely used books from the book stacks; and (g) when a table was occupied by a group of students, conversation often took place among them.…”

“…Our pilot observations and the results of the first study indicated that students seemed to prefer to sit by themselves at tables in academic libraries though the tables had multiple seats available. When choosing to sit at a table already occupied by one person, students seemed to prefer to sit diagonally in relation to (rather than next to or across from) another user; and when provided with some alternative seating spaces (in the form of drawings), they seemed likely to prefer tables with welldefined territorial markers and that provided more privacy, in congruence with the related studies referred to early in the paper (e.g., Bennett et al, 2005;Gal et al, 1986;Holder & Lange, 2014;Kilic & Hasirci, 2011;Loder, 2000;Webb et al, 2008;Xia, 2005;Young, 2003). Providing privacy may help control crowding, which was found to be one of the five most important space attributes, along with the amount of space, comfort, noise level and cleanliness of library study areas (Cha & Kim, 2015).…”

“…Other studies have suggested that students seem to prefer to sit at tables as opposed to carrels (Bennett et al, 2005;Eastman & Harper, 1971;Loder, 2000;Webb et al, 2008;Young, 2003;Xia, 2005), which were described by one student as "They box you in" (Bennett et al, 2005, p. 17). Still, in other studies, carrels and/or carrel areas have been found to be popular (Vaska, Chan, & Powelson, 2009), but less so when alternatives are provided (Applegate, 2009), and seem to be preferred under certain conditions, for example, being near a window, in a well-lit area or having low partitions (Applegate, 2009;Kilic & Hasirci, 2011;Loder, 2000;Shill & Tonner, 2004;Vaska et al, 2009;Young, 1993). Thus, we can conclude that rather than carrels, students in library study areas seem to prefer working at tables that provide visual privacy for their work but are in proximity to others.…”

Sustainable Library Buildings: Green Design Needs and Interior Architecture Students' Ideas for Special Collection Rooms

“…They emphasise using renewable energy sources (solar energy, daylighting, etc. ), water management with rainwater harvesting and water recycling, using ecological materials and innovative technologies for construction and management, creating a comfortable indoor environmental quality (thermal comfort, acoustics and air quality) and the green character of the library neighborhood in terms of landscape and proximity to public transportation (Birkeland, 2002;Edward, 2011;Kilic & Hasirci, 2011;Shane, 2012). Green libraries should be energy and water efficient, use ecological and non-toxic materials and furniture and reduce maintenance costs through recycling and reusing (Jankowska & Marcum, 2010).…”

Effects of daylight design features on visitors’ satisfaction of museums

“…A number of studies report that access to a window with daylight and an outside view are key parameters for users' satisfaction, regardless of the type of built environment. [9][10][11][12] Heerwagen and Heerwagen 13 surveyed occupants in a US office in winter and summer and highlight the importance of daylight for visual health and psychological comfort. According to Veitch and Robert's 14 results, most university students work better in daylight conditions than in artificial light.…”