Student-Focused Spaces Task Force

The Team will:

• Be guided by the Library’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility vision and consider the broadest range ofdiverse student needs
• Design, develop, and conduct assessment and user experience studies to regularly and consistently solicit student feedback across library spaces
• Collect, analyze, and recommend standards for quantitative data about space usage, such as gate counts, head counts, and related analytics on the types of space use.
• Collaborate, share data, and partner on studies with related teams, such as the Reference Management Team and Outreach and Engagement Committee
• Regularly communicate assessment/user experience findings and data within the library as well as with students and stakeholders
• Discuss the impact of proposed changes on all users of the Library with internal stakeholders, and make recommendations for how to expand findings to other user groups and other user spaces
• Collaborate with unit heads and library policing-making bodies to consider any recommended policy changes based on study data.

The Library Student-Focused Spaces Team is charged with ensuring that student-focused spaces across the University Library align with the expectations and needs of the student body, the mission of the Library, and campus strategic goals for student support and success. The team will take a human-centered and data-driven approach which collaborates with students to regularly solicit and incorporate their feedback into the design, presentation, and administration of student-focused spaces. Outcomes of the team’s work will result in a more holistic understanding of student needs for Library spaces, leading to improvements in the ongoing use of Library spaces by students, with an initial focus on assessing the impacts of the closure of the Undergraduate Library.

“Student-focused spaces” refer to spaces that support student activities including studying, events, workshops and programming, tutoring, wellness, and success services. Representatives from across Library Divisions will partner to understand the different needs of each Library space and how they match the preferences of the University of Illinois’ diverse student body.

As one of its outcomes, the team will devise a work plan and submit it to EC for review by the middle off its third year.

• Alex Cabada(Jan 2022 - Jan 2025)
• Kirsten Feist(Jan 2022 - Jan 2025)
• Jessica Hagman(Jan 2022 - Jan 2025)
• Victor Jones, Jr.(Jan 2022 - Jan 2025)
• Kate Lambaria(Jan 2022 - Jan 2025)
• John Laskowski(ex officio - Office of User Experience)
• Jenny Maddox Abbott(Jan 2022 - Jan 2025)
• Jameatris Rimkus(Jan 2022 - Jan 2025)
• Mara Thacker(Jan 2022 - Jan 2025)
• David Ward(ex officio - Library Administration)
• Sarah Williams(Jan 2022 - Jan 2025)
• Jen-chien Yu(ex officio - Office of Library Assessment)

• First Year Report

• Student Focused Spaces Task Force Charge

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• 2022-2023
• 2021-2022