Academic
A 1978 study at the State University of New York College at Cortland concerning seating arrangements and noise levels as measured by accoustical equipment and survey questionnaires showed thatreplacing tables and upholstered chairs in the central area with individual study carrels and distributing the tables and upholstered chairs thoughout the floor did not reduce the frequency of bursts of noise over 50 decibels. However subjective ratings of noise levels by students using the library decreased from an average of 4.38 (scale of 10 with 1 = quiet, 10 = noisy; 438 students sampled) to 3.90 (347 students sampled), while annoyance ratings decreased from an average of 4.13 to 3.61 . Both changes were statistically significant at the .005 level. (Source)
Ibid…. showed thatafter the furniture had been rearranged [no sample size or raw numbers given] 64% of the students reported that the affected floors were “very much” or “somewhat” quieter, 24% reported “no difference,” 4% reported that the floors were “noisier,” and 8% did not respond. (Source)
Ibid…. showed thatafter the furniture had been rearranged [no sample size or raw numbers given] 47% of the students reported that they liked the change, 25% were indifferent, and 28% disliked the change. Further, 44% reported being able to accomplish more work, 52% reported no difference in work accomplished, and 4% reported being able to do less work. (Both of these distributions were significantly statistically different from chance at the .001 level.) (Source)
A 1979 survey of libraries in accredited North American veterinary schools (population: 25 libraries; responding: 23 or 92%) showed that, of the 18 veterinary libraries housed separately, the physical size of the library ranged from 2,163 square feet at Tuskegee to 15,437 square feet at Kansas State University, with the average veterinary library occupying 5,785 square feet of space. The number of reader stations available ranged from 33 at Washington State University to 225 at Iowa State University, with the average veterinary library providing 120 reader stations. (Source)
A survey reported in 1981 of bibliographic instruction in business school libraries (sample size: 120 libraries; responding: 65; usable: 61 or 50.8%) showed that28 (45.9%) of the business school libraries were located in the same building as the business school while 33 (54.1%) were located in the main library building. Of these 33, 14% had separate collections while 86% had their collections in the general stacks. (Source)
Special
A 1979 survey of libraries in accredited North American veterinary schools (population: 25 libraries; responding: 23 or 92%) showed that, of the 18 veterinary libraries housed separately, the physical size of the library ranged from 2,163 square feet at Tuskegee to 15,437 square feet at Kansas State University, with the average veterinary library occupying 5,785 square feet of space. The number of reader stations available ranged from 33 at Washington State University to 225 at Iowa State University, with the average veterinary library providing 120 reader stations. (Source)
