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Seating Sweeps : An Innovative Research Method to Learn About How Our Patrons Use the Library
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Linn, Mott |
| Copyright Year | 2013 |
| Abstract | When determining what kinds of facilities and services to provide, librarians should examine what sections of the library their customers seem to prefer, what types of activities they engage in there, and what types of furniture they tend to use because a patron-oriented library takes this information into account. The question, however, is how can librarians gain this type of knowledge? This was the problem that faced the staff of Clark University's Goddard Library, which serves a Carnegie Research University with a high level of research activity, when in 2004 they began preparing for an expansion of the thirty-five year old building. The librarians knew that they needed to understand how their clients were using the current facilities. This was because that kind of information would provide solid evidence for forecasting the short-term requirements of its patrons even if it might not be a perfect predictor of their needs in the distant future. There are numerous procedures to assess the ways libraries assist their patrons. Some, such as the number of books circulated, the door count, and the number of students receiving bibliographic instruction, do not address the way customers use the various parts of the library. Others, such as surveys, are of questionable validity due to concerns about whether the patrons' “self reporting” accurately describes what they do or if what they say is biased. An additional method for assessing how patrons use the library is a technique called seating sweeps, which has a librarian make systematic observations to chronicle how patrons use the building's space and equipment. This can identify the areas in the library that the patrons use heavily and those that they employ infrequently, determine what activities occur in various parts of the library, and specify when this use takes place. Sweeps can provide this important information to library planners so that they can spend the renovation's budget in ways that better address the needs of the library's clients. This information is also valuable for a library staff to know so that they can better serve their patrons at all times. After all, making information available to its customers in the most efficient and convenient way possible is a library's raison d'etre. |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.ala.org/acrl/sites/ala.org.acrl/files/content/conferences/confsandpreconfs/2013/papers/Linn_Seating.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
