Survey of US Higher Education Faculty 2023, Evaluating Personal Comfort in the Academic Library

Survey of US Higher Education Faculty 2023, Evaluating Personal Comfort in the Academic Library

This 92-page study presents highly detailed data on just how comfortable faculty library patrons are in the academic library.  It helps its readers to answer questions such as:  what do faculty think of the library’s current COVID control efforts? How about the noise level in the library?  Is the air conditioning insufficient or excessive, or just about right?  How clean is the library?  Is it warm enough in the library building in winter? How about library bathrooms?  What would make the library more comfortable?  And, overall, just how comfortable is your academic library?



The study helps its readers to get at the nitty gritty issues that often impact library use but about which little systematic information is available.  This unique study fills the gap.Deans department chairs and distinguished professors were more likely than others to feel that the library was not sufficiently quiet; 13.04% thought it was usually quiet but sometimes it's too loud. Bisexual students and the students on the political left were also more likely than others to feel that the library was not quiet enough; 20.14% of bisexual students felt that while the library is usually quiet it's sometimes too loud. Also students studying economics and finance were more likely than others to feel that their libraries were not quiet enough; nearly 22% of them felt this way. Law students were another group seeking greater silence and a full quarter felt that their libraries were not always quiet enough.