If you’ve stepped inside Scott Library during peak times, you’ve probably seen them - students sprawled out on the floor, with their laptops, their books and their knapsacks.  And you may have wondered why the students don’t find somewhere more comfortable to sit.

It would not be unreasonable to assume it’s all about a shortage of study space.  After all it is not uncommon for the library to be packed to the rafters with gate counts exceeding 16,000 students in a single day.  This is indeed a problem at York and this may be part of the reason - but if you stop and talk to the students, you may find another reason too.

In preparation for the redesign of the 2nd floor of the Scott Library, the Libraries have been talking to a lot of students.  We’ve been conducting focus groups, interviews, running surveys, posting flipcharts for public comment, and using other discovery techniques over the last few months to better understand student learning needs and the kinds of spaces and environments that best support our students.  In the process we have been learning a lot about learning. 

One of the things we’ve heard is that students need and want relaxed informal environments.  Traditionally libraries have been relatively formal settings – furniture has been rigid and fixed, policies have been strict, and activities proscribed.  Today’s students still need quiet areas for individual study, but they also need more informal, dynamic and flexible spaces that they can customize and make their own.  And they need comfort.  Lounge chairs, sofas, maybe even padded floors with pillows.

So back to the students sitting on the ground…why are they there?  In fact, some students prefer to sit there.  According to some, there are advantages: space to spread out, they can gather in groups, and talk and discuss without bothering others.  Sometimes, too, they are there because of available power outlets for their laptops.

Students expect a variety of different kinds of spaces for different kinds of tasks. A diversity of learning environments need to provide students with choices based on needs, preferences and learning styles: individual and group, silent and collaborative, flexible and structured.

Students also express a need for two other things: technology and food!  Both are seen as integral to the research process and therefore students want them to be ubiquitous.  Access to computers is essential, and students need a broader spectrum of types of technology.  Students have suggested more power outlets for laptops, Macs, and access to other types of hardware and software.  As for food – we can probably all relate to that.  Students study for long periods of time and would prefer not to have to leave the library and risk losing their study seat in order to get some caffeine or a quick bite to eat.  

Ultimately the best learning environments are ones that function as ecologies. Social functions which might at first appear non-academic (eg. cafés) can, for instance, contribute to the development of a learning ecology that supports sustained study. Learning spaces recognize the synergy between academic and social functions. And social environments help encourage the sharing and assimilation of knowledge in and through communities of learners. 

This mixing is one of the things that makes the library distinct as a learning environment on campus; the library is a place in which communities of learners can interact, engage, and assimilate knowledge and ideas outside of formal disciplinary structures like classrooms.

We are continuing to involve students in the design of new learning spaces. Currently, planning is happening at the Scott Library and also at Frost Library at Glendon College. To learn more about the development of learning spaces, please see our planning document, 21st Century Learning Space: A Model for the Scott Library.