Serving the Commuter College Student in Urban Academic Libraries

Where Students Start and What They Do When They Get Stuck: A Qualitative Inquiry into Academic Information-Seeking and Help-Seeking Practices

“…In their ethnographic study of commuter students attending urban campuses, Regalado and Smale (2015) found that the places for students to congregate were often very crowded during peak class times and the campuses lacked outdoor or green spaces. Students were able to strategize and find alternative spots on campus to relax or study, such as a top floor in a stairwell.…”

“…University students' reliance upon locations other than their institution's library for their academic work, which is largely undocumented in the library science literature with the exception of largescale ethnographic projects such as Regalado and Smale (2015) and Vondracek's (2007) survey of library non-use among undergraduates, was a salient and unanticipated discovery. Several students described their use of places such as workspaces in disciplinary departments, hospitals where they are training, and other students' homes in order to study collaboratively or conduct their research.…”

Open Praxis vol. 11 issue 1

“…The access to course materials that OER provides is particularly important for students who are commuters, which most CUNY students are. Regalado and Smale's (2015) research indicates that CUNY students spend 30-60 minutes each way commuting to school, meaning they likely spend "considerably more than the average length reported by NSSE of five hours per week" in transit to school. Students interviewed by Cooney also relayed that access to portable course materials is of crucial import for urban students, juggling multiple responsibilities, including long commutes (Cooney, 2017, p. 175).…”

Re-imagined post-colonial geographies: Graduate students explore spaces of resistance in the wake of Ferguson

“…Within the suburban periphery that existed outside the four-mile radius of the city, an oasis of higher education opportunities across diverse types of universities emerged as a major finding. Thus, for many working-class students of color living in urban areas, who are less likely to own vehicles and commute via public transit (Regalado and Smale, 2015), having access to an efficient transportation system that connects their home to colleges would influence their college choice process. Transportation design and experience is part of larger and failed urban development policies and designs, which contribute to the research design of this study.…”