THE SHIFTING OF READING CENTER TO LEARNING CENTER IN ACADEMIC LIBRARY TOWARDS USER’S PLACE ATTACHMENTS. (THE CASE STUDY OF COLLEGE LIBRARY AT UNPAD, ITS AND ITB)

• Main Author: Akhmadi
• Format: Theses
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/43906
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

The concept of service has undergone a shift in colleges academic libraries. The shifting began with the concept of library services becoming learning centres rather than reading centres. This shifting produces new activities and habits for the visitors. A lot of research states that students quickly feel bored when they are inside the library. Visitors often feel drowsy when they have to search for books, bookshelves, reading tables and seats. Libraries started changing since the 21st century. The library is not just a place to store and read books (reading centre) anymore, but also a place to create a collaborative learning environment (learning centre). The shifting in the concept of library service are also influenced by social interactions, visual style of the interior, technological development and Z generation people. These four elements are expected to have contributed to a feeling of emotional attachment (place attachment) to the academic library. Three academic libraries from three of the well-known colleges in Indonesia, namely, Unpad, ITS and ITB central library were chosen as case studies for this research. The method used in this research is mixed method with exploratory sequential strategy. The qualitative research phase consisted of descriptive analysis, interviews, observations, and collection of references relevant to the research. Findings from the qualitative phase were used as hypotheses to be tested in the quantitative phase. Multiple linear correlation analysis with the help of SPSS software was used for testing the results of the quantitative phase. The results show that the four elements of the learning centre can have a strong connection (64.6%) with library visitors’s place attachment. The strength of the effect of this connection with each library is as strong as, 33.7% in Unpad Central Library, 66% in ITS Central Library and 67.2% in ITB Central Library. The results of this research also reveal the fact that visitors from Z generation people will be dominant amongst college library visitors. Visitors from Z generation have a preference to visit the library once a week, spend as much as 2-4 hours in a single visit, and often visit the library with their friends. The assessment of working motivation as place dependence and assessment on a meaning of identity as place identity is influenced by the comfort and interest of visitors in specific places in the library. The results of this quantitative research are also linked to the theory of disruption-response framework. The results studied from this theory indicate that ideal design recommendations for libraries based on learning centre concept are; it must have an interactive social activities among the library visitors, must have an interesting visual style of interior, must have ease of access to a collection of technology, and be able to understand the inclinations of Z generation.