University Libraries

By Katy Kelly and David Luftig

In a post-Roesch Refresh world, the University of Dayton community will have a range of innovative new library spaces to explore and use. Two in particular had us wondering, “How will students use these, and what types of amenities will support them?”

The spaces in question include Concourse D, an out-in-the-open, reservable project development studio, and “huddle rooms” — popular new spaces on the second floor that are also part of the first-floor design.

Concourse D, slated for the east end of the second floor, is the brainchild of 12 UD students in the 2017 IACT Collaboration Accelerator.

Huddle rooms enable groups of four to work collaboratively and semi-privately using technology and dry-erase panels within glass walls.

In the fall term, we designed a survey of student organizations asking these questions. Through the weekly e-newsletter of the Center for Student Involvement, about 2,000 students in recognized student organizations were invited to complete the survey between Oct. 23 and Nov. 15. As an incentive, those who completed the survey were invited to enter a drawing for a student organization to win $200 for the academic year.

The response rate was great: 194 students completed the survey, giving some helpful feedback on the plans for Concourse D and huddle rooms.

High interest, balanced appeal

Asked to choose one space over the other for their work, 51.5 percent preferred the Concourse D space, and 48.5 percent preferred a huddle room.

In a question about likely frequency of use, 77 percent of respondents said they would use the collaboration spaces one to four times a semester; another 22 percent answered that they’d use it once a week or more.

When we examined the frequency responses by space preference, we saw that those who chose huddle rooms indicated that they would use the space more frequently (“more than once a week” and “once a week”), while those who preferred Concourse D were more likely to use the space “once a month” or “once or twice a semester.” This shows that both types of spaces are have comparable demand, and they would be used frequently on a regular basis.

Markers rule; tools cool

As far as amenities go, multicolored dry-erase markers and portable projectors were the top priorities for students. Bluetooth speakers and an expert to assist were the next most popular. Cutting and measuring tools and calculators were not as popular across the board. However, we still plan to have these available. Thanks to a crowdfunding campaign in summer 2018, we have money to purchase these student-requested amenities.

A short-answer question inquired how students thought that they would use the space they selected. Reading through the scenarios was enlightening. We’re excited to see how spaces will help student organization engage their members in brainstorming, planning, meetings, events and recruitment. Such information will help further shape our space planning, furniture purchases and developments related to services and staffing.

Thanks to everyone who filled out the survey. Using this feedback and other information we collected our various visioning sessions held in 2017, we are excited to bring these spaces to life.

More information

Read more about Concourse D or book a second-floor huddle room

— Katy Kelly is coordinator of marketing and engagement; David Luftig is a research services librarian.