Linking Library Use to Student Engagement

Abstract

Library deans are expected to demonstrate their library contributes to student success, especially in a time of scarce resources. This article describes one such effort to link student success to students’ use of the library. Student success is, in a large part, the result of student engagement, of which academic and social engagement are two prominent components. For the purposes of empirical research, academic and social engagement are suitable proxies for determining how various university programs and services, including libraries, contribute to student engagement and, thereby to student success. However, in the library and information science literature, very little qualitative research is available about the contribution of library space to student engagement. To fill this gap, a qualitative, transcendental phenomenological study, using semi-structured, in-depth interviews, was conducted at a medium-size public university in Southwest Florida to collect and analyze data on student perceptions of the relationship between their academic and social engagement and the way they used academic library spaces. Study participants agreed that using library spaces contributed to their ability to study independently and to interact with their peers on group projects and assignments, depending on the types of spaces available. This study has implications for academic library administrators who must demonstrate the value of library services and resources, including library space, to university administrators who are focused on student retention and success. By using the interview protocol from this study, library administrators will be able to collect valuable data that may be used to persuade university administrators when requesting funding to renovate existing library spaces, to build new library spaces, or to advocate to retain existing spaces.