User Preference Survey for Library Space Problems

Carol A. Turner, Director

Faculty and other library users recognize that the University of Florida’s libraries are facing serious space problems. The situation is most acute in Library West, the primary library for the humanities and social sciences. Although Library West’s shelves are filled nearly to capacity, about half of the 100,000 new volumes the libraries receive annually are destined for this building. Several steps have been taken in recent years to address the space problem. These include reducing the number of user seats, relocating the Judaica collection to the Education Library, and moving a significant portion of the collection to the Marston Science Library and the Limited Access Depository off-campus storage site.

The Smathers Libraries are currently considering several options to address the immediate space problems in Library West. Because our space problems are so severe, it will no doubt be necessary to use some combination of these options. None of the options will solve the problems for more than a few years.

Concerned about the impact of the various options on faculty and students, we are seeking information on library user preferences among the various options. A Library West Space Survey was included in the latest issue of our faculty newsletter, Library News (which was distributed to all departments and is available from the library web page). It is also available on the Internet at http://web.uflib.ufl.edu/toolbox/spacesurvey.html.

I urge you and the faculty in your departments and colleges to complete the survey. Although the survey focuses on Library West, most of the options necessarily involve and have an impact on other campus libraries. The space problems are campus-wide problems and any actions taken are unlikely to be confined only to Library West.

For more information, contact me at 392-0342 or at carturn@smathersnt2.uflib.ufl.edu.