Focus GroupEleven students, selected from the surveyed STEM courses (Fall 2014), participated in one of two focus groups January 2015.
Themes that emerged from focus groups
Quiet Individual and Communal Study Space
Quiet study space is valued. Fewer unoccupied spaces are available for quiet study due to campus remodeling projects. For example, Sandburg Lounge has decreased in size, Founders Lab became a more social space, and Taylor Lounge is a newly created, and very popular, social space. Seymour Library is centrally located, and while having quiet study areas, it is considered “busy” and “noisy” during peak study times mid-week 7-9pm (CTL tutoring times).
Individual, quiet study also has a communal component. Students in focus groups and interviews indicated they choose the Science Library for quiet study and several indicated a preference for studying individually near, but not necessarily in collaboration with, others. Communal, quiet study (“studying along” O’Connor, 2010 and “ambient sociality” Crook & Mitchell, 2012) inspire students to “be part of a scholarly community” (Demas, 2005). literature review
Another person nearby "helps me do my work" by "keeping me on track".
"I like seeing people, but I don't necessarily like hearing them or talking to them or interacting. I like knowing they are around."
"I really like the cubicle idea, just because I think that if it's two or three people, I think it's okay. People usually stay on task, but if it's a larger area, people get distracted more often.”
Group Study and Social Space
Study rooms are valued for social group study, and were chosen 33% of the time by social groups during seat use observation in the science library. The three study rooms available in the Science Library provide large tables and glass windows to shut out distractions but not feel isolated.
"You can see people pass by but you can't hear them. You don't feel obligated to talk to them."
"I usually study in groups and not individually, and the carrels are really restricting to me."
"You can see people pass by but you can't hear them. You don't feel obligated to talk to them."
Space Convenient to Classrooms
The Science & Mathematics Center (SMC) building does not have a common public area, so the Science Library fill this role. Students surveyed indicated they used the Science Library Fall 2014 most often for computers/printers (57%), studying alone (55%), and taking exams (29%). Focus group participants spoke about the convenience of communal library space to access resources (and to relax) between classes:
“Usually if I’m in SMC, it's because I was already there for a class or for work or something like that, so I’ll just go up there and get some work done where it's quiet in between [classes].”
“Especially now that I’m doing senior research, if I’m doing stuff in there and all of a sudden I have a question...I can just go to my professor and they're right there in the same building.”
Access to Technology
Students surveyed indicated they used the Science Library during Fall 2014 most often for using computers/printers (57%). Students in focus groups and interviews spoke to the convenience of using the Science Library computers and printers. None of the students in the focus group ue the Science building computers labs on a regular basis. They also prefer not to carry their own laptops.
“I think it's definitely due to the location, because I always have two, or more than two, classes in SMC, so rather than just going to Seymour [Library] or Founders [computer lab] to print out something, I can just go to SMC and print something and I can just study for one period hour before classes start.”
“I forgot they [SMC basement computer labs] were there. I have used them before, now that I think about it. I just kind of forgot they were there.”
"And sometimes they [building computer labs] are blocked out because classes meet in there."
The Science Library provides access to course reserves, books and periodicals to support academic and personal interest. Although circulation of Science Library materials are overall trending downward (48% less in 2013/14 than in 1998/99), reserve circulation is trending upward (10% more in 2013/14 than in 1998/99) despite the fact the the total number of items on reserve has decreased. This is likely due to the ease of creating and sharing digitized materials. Focus group participants spoke about accessing Science Library materials:
“I like that it's got all of the science books, especially up on the second floor. Sometimes like to, if I’m studying up there for a long time, I like to wander around and look at all the different books.”
“It’s really nice cause I have the majority of my classes in there and meetings, so it is super convenient. If there would be a particular book I want to check out and then seeing all the other books that are related to it is really fun.”
“I like that they have the books on reserve. They are the science books that I want and that I need, so I like that a lot too.”
“When I was studying for my MCAT, they had all the books on reserve, so I spent a lot of time in SMC library studying.”
