ReadingAButhowarestudentsusingthisgreatwealthofresources?Tobetterunderstandcollegestudents’studyhabits,wewantedtoexplorehowandwhytheyusetheirschool’slibrary.So,inastudentengagementsurveyweconductedintheSpringof2015,weasked:Whatdoyoudowhenyou’reatyourcollegelibrary?Nearly3,000studentsresponded.Herearetheirtopfourreasonsforspendingtimethere.23

ReadingAA.Studyalone.Byfarthemostpopularresponseat77%,theclearmajorityofoursurveyedstudentsheadtothelibrarytofocusontheirstudiesbythemselves.Tous,thisresponseshowsthat,nomatterwhatkindsofresourcesareofferedbythelibrary,itslearningspaceis(andwillprobablyalwaysbe)regardedasagreatplacetogetseriousaboutschoolwork.Italsomeansthat,duringpeakstudyperiods(suchasthefinalsweek),studentswoulddowelltogettothelibraryearlytosecurethestudyspotoftheirchoice!45

ReadingAB.Usetheonlinedatabases.Morethanhalf(51%)ofthestudentssaidthatthey’reatthelibrarytousetheonlinedatabases,indicatingthatagoodportionoftheirresearchworkiscompletedatthelibrary.Unfortunately,manystudentswilloftenfindthemselvesinfrontofaloomingdeadlineandaclosedlibrary.Orperhapstheycan’tmakeittothecampuslibraryforotherreasons(suchasparentingresponsibilities,alackoftransportationoptions,oraneedtotravelawayfromhome).Theycanaccesstheircollege’sdatabasesfromtheirowncomputer.Typically,allthey’llneedisInternetaccessandausernameandpassword.67

ReadingAC.Usereferencematerials.Whetherthey’reinneedofgeneralresourcessuchasencyclopediasanddictionaries,specializedpublicationssuchasfield-specificbibliographicalguidesandindexes,orotherreferencesthatsimplyaren’tavailableinelectronicformats,studentsvisitthelibrarytoaccessnon-circulatingmaterialsthattheyneedtocompletetheirprojects.8

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