Getting the Right Fit: Tailoring Assessment Strategies for Your Library April 22nd, 2014
Presented by in partnership with
Assessing Building Use and Renovation Success with Suma
G. Karen Merguerian, User Engagement Librarian Northeastern University
Assessing our renovations
Spring 2012
• Building use survey
Early fall 2012
• Renovation of level 2 into Digital Media Commons (DMC)
Spring 2013
• Suma pilot, one-week snapshot of DMC
Fall 2013
• Opening of renovated main floor
Spring 2014
• Suma occupancy counts, building-wide
Level 2 was seen as experimental…
Assumptions:
1. That students needed high end computers with dual monitors for effective collaboration
2. That students like sitting in groups at tables in order to talk and collaborate
3. That students would appreciate cozy, casual furniture
4. That it would be easy to communicate what students wanted to architects
Of course, our assumptions turned out to be false
Why we chose Suma as a tool
• To track actual, not self-reported behavior • Because card swipes measure entrances, but not
occupancy • We needed more accuracy • To capture more than just numbers:
– Activities – Time and date stamps – Locations
http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/dli/projects/spaceassesstool
3 Components of Suma 1. Data management
server
2. Web application (right and below)
3. Data analysis dashboard
Level 2 activity snapshot
• Most students were using their own devices, sometimes alone, sometimes along with library technology.
• Very few students were using dual monitor workstations.
• A third were studying with printed material, whiteboards, etc…
Numbers do not add up to 100% since each student could
have multiple simultaneous “activities”
More findings with Suma: Locations
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Atrium area Window area 1
Window area2
Window area3
End of stakes by back elivator
Within stack area
Group study 401 Individual study
Avg Occupancy Level-4
Large Tables
Preference ratio of tables over carrels at different levels of occupancy
We learned that… • In the DMC on level
2, most students were bringing their own computers.
• On quiet floors 3 and 4 (left), tables are valued to spread out and “study along”, “alone together” not just to collaborate*
*See O’Connor, Seeing duPont within Sewanee and Student Life, 2006 http://www.sewanee.edu/teaching/dupont
We also learned
1. Group studies and high-density labs are preferred over casual seating.
2. It’s not easy to convince architects of anything!
Free as in….
• Flexible • Feature rich • NCSU-supported (thank
you, Jason Casden)
• Requires server admin to install and maintain
• Software bugs • Webkit browsers only
Source: wikimedia commons, Nejmlez http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dutch_beers.jpg
Challenges
What is the seating capacity of a couch?
