The Growing Popularity of the Commons Library: An Analysis of the Purpose and Popularity of the Libraries at the University of North Carolina (2015)

Undergraduate: Justin Cole

Faculty Advisor: Courtney Rivard
Department: Economics

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In the twenty-first century, college students no longer value the university library as a silent bastion of concentrated studying; rather, these students prefer a noisy social center, which provides them with a comfortable studying atmosphere as well as required technological equipment. It is this latter library that scholars have classified as the commons library. This ethnographic study focuses on the environment of the three main libraries at the University of North Carolina: Wilson Library, Davis Library, and the Undergraduate Library (UL). My findings suggest that despite the fact that Wilson is the quietest library on campus, very few students preferred it as many chose instead to study in Davis or the UL. Both of these newer libraries have tailored themselves to fit the interests of modern students and encourage a more relaxed atmosphere by including comfortable seating, a wide variety of useful technology and relaxed policies related to food and drink as well as talking. Without these adaptations ¿¿¿ all of which are designed to improve students¿¿¿ studying experiences ¿¿¿ students simply do not value the library because they strongly dislike studying. This reality, of course, presents important questions related to the entire academic culture of American colleges.