As libraries increasingly function as 'community hubs,' public librarians are prioritising space reclamation to create collaborative spaces, maker/hacker spaces and meeting rooms. This is according to a new ProQuest survey of public librarians about their views, plans and strategies related to space reclamation.
A topic on the library radar for several years, space reclamation has now moved from discussion to priority – 59% of public library respondents to the ProQuest survey started to consider space reclamation a priority within the last two years. A ProQuest survey of academic librarians conducted in late 2016 found that about a third of those respondents had prioritised repurposing space for more than five years.
The public library survey findings highlight common strategies being used to repurpose space: 65% of respondents are weeding historical periodicals and 47% are replacing print with ebooks.
ProQuest is responding to the trend with new services that enable libraries to free shelf-space without reducing the size or scope of their collections. For instance, its Assessment Team works with libraries who are weeding printed materials, identifying comprehensive digital replacements and recommending items that should be available in both print and digital format. The team provides libraries with a complimentary detailed report customised to their collection, user needs and budget. The report even recommends the best acquisition formats to reduce budget impact.
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