Best of Core Forum: Assessing Study Room Use and Patron Needs

CHICAGO — Join Core for the webinar "Best of Core Forum: Assessing Study Room Use and Patron Needs" on July 22, 2026, at 1 p.m. CDT. Study room spaces have become a critical resource offered in large academic libraries, yet their standard configuration and policies may not be serving the diverse needs of all patrons. To address this, we conducted an assessment project at a large, land-grant university to gather data on study room usage and user preferences. Through an initial survey and in-person follow-up through tabling and direct patron engagement, we explored the following research questions: How are patrons using study rooms? Are current configurations meeting their needs? What attributes do users value most? And what new configurations could enhance their experience? Our findings revealed important insights into study room behaviors, space preferences, and potential areas for improvement with our services. This presentation will share the results from our study and discuss how we applied these insights to enhance the study room experience, including promoting our “Library of Things” collection as study room resources. It will also situate our study within broader trends in library study room services, and offer attendees practical strategies for assessing study spaces in their own institutions and implementing changes to improve patron satisfaction and engagement. This webinar was previously presented in-person as a session at the 2025 Core Forum. We are hosting this webinar, with the session adapted and presented live as a virtual event, to extend its reach.
 

Best of Core Forum: Assessing Study Room Use and Patron Needs

Presenters:

Lailah Ramos, Circulation Coordinator, Oklahoma State University's Edmon Low Library, Stillwater, OK

Whitney Hilley, Associate Professor and Head of Access Services, Oklahoma State University’s Edmon Low Library, Stillwater, OK

Registration Fees:

Core Member: $57.85
ALA Member: $80.10
Nonmember: $89.00
Student: $44.50

How Do I Purchase Group Registration?

You can register a group by specifying the number of people who will be accessing the webinar during checkout. We offer webinars discounts based on the number of registrations you specify at checkout. If you are a Core member, you can purchase seats for yourself and your colleagues at the Core discount rate; ALA's new e-Learning store allows you to extend Core member savings to colleagues at your institution.

Can't attend the live event? No problem! All registrants will receive a link to the recorded session for later viewing at their convenience.

Register online or by phone at 1-800-545-2433 (press 1 to reach our customer service representatives).

For questions or comments related to Core webinars, please contact Core staff at corece@ala.org.

About Core

Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures is the national association that advances the profession of librarians and information providers in central roles of leadership and management, collections and technical services, and technology. Our mission is to cultivate and amplify the collective expertise of library workers in core functions through community building, advocacy, and learning. Core is a division of the American Library Association. Follow us on our Blog, Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook.