Student preferences and current usage in interior environment of the library: A case study at a Malaysian university

• Main Authors: Marzuki, Ibrahim, Hisham, Lababneh, Salem, Alqamaz
• Format: Article
• Language: English; English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: L Education (General); LB2300 Higher Education
• Online Access: http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/6279/1/FH02-FRIT-19-26694.pdf; http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/6279/2/FH02-FRIT-19-26804.pdf; http://eprints.unisza.edu.my/6279/
• Institution: Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin

Recent trends in the design and renovation of libraries concentrate principally on the library as place and as a social space, how do university students currently use the library? Do students primarily use the library to gather and interact, or are they using it to learn as in the suggestive traditional role of the library? How can students’ preferences for an ideal interior learning space be integrated into the design of a library to better support a learning environment? A case study of the main library at a University Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA) was used to examine these research questions. A student survey was used to engage users of the space and recognize how they use the library. The analysis from this quantitative method approach was used to reveal how students use the study spaces in the library and how the interior spaces of the university library can be designed to respond to student behaviors and preferences. Student survey results revealed that students value the library and use the library as a study space. The most significant finding was that 82.28% of survey respondents stated the main reason they choose to study at the library is for quiet study space. This finding is in opposition to the literature on the library as a social space. While we are designing libraries to foster collaboration, we must also maintain the notion that libraries should provide patrons with a welcoming and comfortable quiet study environment that promotes prolonged use.