Over the past twenty-five years, many academic libraries have shifted from print to digital collections. One consequence of this change has been the increased use of a library's website to access books, journals, and databases in a digital format. Thus, library space, once used to house print material, is now available for other purposes, creating…

For many years, the Reggio Emilia approach has been in the spotlight of the international debate on early childhood education, attracting countless devoted followers in preschool centres all over the world and inspiring an ever-increasing amount of pedagogical research. At the heart of this educational philosophy, space is considered a 'third…

This descriptive qualitative study explores undergraduate students' experiences of physical academic libraries to identify possible connections between physical academic library environments and students' affective experiences. Drawing on a combination of theoretical perspectives focused on how humans understand, navigate, and respond to space and…

Few investigations of museums have examined the potential of varying displays as related to learning outcomes. This study focused on two museum spaces, presenting different historical events and featuring different objects' characteristics and arrangements, as related to seventh- and eighth-graders' learning and experiences during a self-guided…

The term 'permeability' has morphed from is primarily technical origins into the lexicon of architecture as architects (and other professionals) sought better language to describe the relationships of spaces to their environments and other spaces and to the interactions of users with spaces. In higher education, permeability incorporates aspects…

During the spring 2017 semester, the staff at the Boston University School of Theology Library launched a space assessment project aimed at identifying underutilized and inefficiently used sections of the library to better meet the needs of users. Unsatisfied with patron count metrics like "total patron count" and "capacity…

Learning spaces in higher education are changing in crucial and myriad ways. It is important to know how learning spaces are associated with learning in order to provide students with the most appropriate spaces to learn. This study investigates the relationship between students' learning patterns and learning spaces in higher education through…

Purpose: Against the backdrop of a global policyscape of inclusion, this paper investigates how three primary schools (Poland, Austria, Germany) mark entry halls and classrooms with state and religious symbolism and grant presence or absence of multilingualism. Design/methodology/approach: This multi-sited school ethnography investigates how EU…

The University of Oregon (UO) Libraries recently launched the campus's first ideation room, the Innovation, Design, Education, and Aspire (IDEA) Space. The IDEA Space differentiates from other creative spaces such as makerspaces, digital humanities labs, and media centres by its focus on the intellectual aspects of the design thinking process --…

In small branch libraries, patrons seeking assistance from library staff outside of the dedicated single-service desk often results in large staffing inefficiencies. This paper presents a case study in which the authors applied behavioral psychology models to a branch library's space arrangement to identify possible factors influencing patron…

The Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology at NYU-Tandon School of Engineering adopted an assessment methodology that was central to the librarians' understanding of current environmental issues and their attempts to craft a better user experience. This method of gauging and analyzing occupancy revealed problem areas and was an invaluable…

A recent focus in academic library design is as a third place: a home from home. Research has yet to interrogate what it means to be "at home,, and if academic libraries are treated like, and feel like home to students. Seamon's model provides a framework for understanding the qualities associated with homeness, across the five dimensions of…

Anecdotal evidence implies that students use library spaces for spiritual practices at many colleges and universities. Using focus groups, the authors investigated students' prayer behaviors on four regional campuses of a large research university, asking questions about students' frequency of prayer, campus areas used for devotions, and students'…

Several aspects of the indoor early childhood education (ECE) environment may be associated with physical activity (PA), including indoor areas. Modifying the indoor physical environment in classrooms could have significant potential to influence PA in young children. However, to our knowledge, PA promotion interventions involving changes to the…

The following is an exploration of the spatial configurations (and their implications) within a typical panel session at an academic conference. The presenter initially takes up different roles and hyperbolically describes some possible messages that the spatial arrangement sends. Eventually, the presenter engages the audience members in atypical…