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December 23, 2019 by Gary Price

Journal Article: “Keep the Books on the Shelves: Library Space as Intrinsic Facilitator of the Reading Experience”

December 23, 2019 by Gary Price

The following article (in press, corrected proof) was recently posted online (full text, open access) by the Journal of Academic Librarianship.

Title

Keep the Books on the Shelves: Library Space as Intrinsic Facilitator of the Reading Experience

Author

James Donovan
University of Kentucky

Source

Available Online December 18, 2019
DOI: 10.1016/j.acalib.2019.102104

Abstract

Library literature frequently reports projects to remove print collections and replace them with other amenities for patrons. This project challenges the untested assumption that the physical library itself serves no useful function to its users unless they are actively consulting books from the shelves. The alternative hypothesis is that readers benefit from the mere act of studying while in a book-filled environment.

To test this possibility, ten subjects completed SAT-style reading comprehension tests in both a traditional library environment, and a renovated chapel that strongly resembles library space except for lacking books. Results provide a reasonable basis to support an expectation that readers perform better on reading comprehension tasks performed in book-rich environments.

Direct to Full Text Article (HTML Version)

Direct to Full Text Article (PDF Version)
7 pages; PDF.

Filed under: Libraries, News, Open Access, Patrons and Users, Reports

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About Gary Price

Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area. He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit. Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com. Gary is also the co-founder of infoDJ an innovation research consultancy supporting corporate product and business model teams with just-in-time fact and insight finding.

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