Southeastern Library Assessment Conference

How Can Researchers' Browsing Behaviors Inform Library Space-Planning?

This study is an in-depth, qualitative analysis of the ways academics at the Claremont Colleges browse library materials, both print and electronic, for their research. Many academic libraries today are struggling with the question of how best to accommodate the quantity of print materials they routinely acquire as those volumes increasingly strain the capacity of their physical spaces. It is hoped this project will help these institutions identify which subject-based collections and which format types researchers need to have immediately accessible for physical perusal and which they can browse productively online.