Mapping user’s habits and patterns of use at the Catholic university of Louvain - Library and learning center of sciences and technologies (BST)

Brodkom, Frédéric [UCL] Ervinckx, Céline [UCL]

In 2011, the Université catholique de Louvain decided to relocate the old Library of sciences and technologies dating from 1973 in a former building of didactical chemistry to be renovated. It was the occasion to implement new services around the concept of learning center. Nevertheless, facts and objective measurements were required to better know the real uses of the spaces and services in the library and to identify the needs for the design of the new library and learning center (inaugurated in September 2014). Close to other methods of survey (like LibQUAL) and meeting or interviews with academic staffs and students, the methodology of “Sweeping the library” (Given, L. M., Leckie, G. J. / Library & Information Science Research 25 (2003) 365-385) has been used. During 10 months, 2.676 observations of users have been recorded (on canvas with 10 possible locations and 25 different activities) to response at a simple question: What they do in the library and where are they when they do that? Each activities (academic, documentary or social activities: studying in groups with/without books of the library, searching for books in shelves, surfing on Facebook, etc.) has been mapped in each particular location of the library (study rooms, rooms for groups, zone with armchairs, …) and vice versa. This presentation will show how this survey has allowed to design new spaces and to purchase needed furniture. For example, we recorded in 2011 that 34 % of the uses of rooms for groups are the fact of students studying alone. A second similar survey, performed in 2015 in the new library, has shown a decrease to 14 % of the use of group rooms by students alone due to a better management of room’s booking (on line) and to the increase of quality and number of real quiet individual seats. Other examples will be presented and comparisons with other kind of surveys will be done to demonstrate how the sweeping methodology could really help librarians in their understanding of the uses and habits of their users and in the design of new spaces or new libraries.