Investigating Student Use of Library Spaces Using Ethnographic Methods
Project Objectives
Examine how undergraduate students at Gustavus Adolphus College use physical and virtual library spaces at the Folke Bernadotte Memorial Library and identify opportunities for improvement. Generate actionable recommendations for reconfiguring physical spaces and redesigning the library website.
Focus group participants’ mockup of ideal library homepage
Methods
Our research team developed and employed an ethnographic and mixed-methods approach: focus groups, usability testing, free listing, photo diaries, image association, usage mapping, interviews, and an online survey.
Compilation map of point-in-time study areas (library second floor)
My Role
As the consulting ethnographer on the project, I co-developed ethnographic research methods to align with project objectives. I collaborated in all phases of the research process: defining the project scope and assigning roles, recruiting study participants, collecting and analyzing data, and communicating key findings in presentations and publications. For the data collection process, I co-facilitated web focus groups for the library website and tracked students’ use of physical study spaces using a mapping technique.
Key Findings
In the physical library building, students reported a desire for natural light, more tables, more private study areas, more group study areas, a café, and better signs to navigate the library. Students reported wanting a library website that is visually appealing, dynamic, simple, and well-organized. The website was initially designed with built-in redundancy and multiple avenues for accessing library resources and information, however students expressed a preference for a single path for finding the information they need.
Application
Academic libraries continue to evolve to support students’ learning and research at institutes of higher education. Gathering student-generated data and involving the end-user throughout the process helps to align libraries’ efforts with students’ needs and preferences to ultimately create effective products and services that enhance the student research process. Using empirical data to inform the (re)design process helps to avoid bias and preexisting ideas about how to improve existing physical and virtual spaces. Immediate and lasting changes are possible even on a small budget, as the ethnographic methods from our study can be adopted and scaled up or down.
Presentations
Julie Gilbert, Amy Gratz, Anna Hulseberg and Sarah Monson. “The Library Through Students’ Eyes: Exploring Student Research Needs in the Brick and Click Space,” Brick and Click Libraries Symposium, Maryville, MO, November 5, 2010.
Julie Gilbert, Amy Gratz, Anna Hulseberg and Sarah Monson. “Demystifying Ethnography: Exploring Student Use of Library Spaces” Minnesota Library Association 2010 Annual Conference, Rochester, MN, October 6, 2010.
Gilbert, Julie, Anna Hulseberg, Sarah Monson, and Amy Gratz. “The Library through Students’ Eyes: Exploring Student Research Needs in the Brick and Click Space.” Brick & Click Libraries: Proceedings of an Academic Library Symposium. November 5, 2010. Ed. Frank Baudino, Connie Jo Ury, and Sarah G. Park. Maryville, Northwest Missouri State University, 2010: 39-50. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED513812.pdf#page=48
Hulseberg, Anna, and Sarah Monson. “Investigating a Student-Driven Taxonomy for Library Website Design.” Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 23.4 (2011): 361-368. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/1941126X.2011.627806