Sense of Place Attachment to the Architectural Academic Library

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Abstract

The academic library is considered as one of the essential places within any university campus. However, in the past two decades academic libraries have been facing many challenges in meeting students’ needs due to the transformation in information and knowledge commons. While academic library spaces are physically transforming through this shift, the conceptualisation of the library for many students is still as an information repository, which leads to a lack in students’ place attachment to the academic library. The present study highlights the factors and aspects related to this problem. To reach this goal, the study implements both analytical and quantitative research methods. First, the analytical method aims to analyse one of the best practices in planning architecture and art libraries (the Tama Art University library) as a case study. Second, the quantitative method conducts a questionnaire for students in two different architectural schools in Riyadh in order to reflect the influence of library design on the attractiveness of libraries to users and their place attachment to libraries. Based on the literature review and the results using the two research methodologies, the study comes out with an integrated three-dimensional model for an interactive architecture library that can contribute to create the sense of place attachment between the library design and architecture students. This can support new teaching and learning strategies by providing multifunction spaces that support a wide range of users’ learning and knowledge activities to enhance the place attachment.