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Secrets of Lighting: Library Book Stack Illumination and Its Influences on Readers’ Book-Searching Behaviors

  • Wencheng Su , Zhangping Lu EMAIL logo , Wenqing Lu and Rui Li
Published/Copyright: February 26, 2019

Abstract

Book stack illuminance was recorded by a luminometer from September 2016 through September 2017 based on tracking-observation in two libraries at the University of Illinois at Urbana and Champaign in the US and the Jiangsu University Library in China. Independent-samples T test and one-way analysis of variance were used for records data analysis. Further, an experiment was designed to measure the effects of book stack lighting environment on readers’ book-searching behaviors. Independent-samples T test was used for experiment data analysis. It was found that the seasonal illuminance of book stacks changed irregularly, which meant that two hypotheses (1 and 2) central to this study were not fully supported, and the day-night illumination differences on the stacks was significant in UIUC libraries for three seasons, and completely significant in JSU Library. In the course of behavior experiments, stack lighting had no significant effect on American participants’ searching performance, while the results in the library of China were diametrically opposite. Therefore, the lighting system in book stacks should be optimized through choosing the appropriate light sources, adjusting the approaches to book stack lighting and, even more, considering readers’ expectation and perception during library lighting designing, so as to increase their efficiency in book-searching.

Funding statement: Chinese National Social Science Foundation, Funder Id:, Grant Number: 16BTQ004. The Jiangsu Provincial Graduates Innovation Foundation, Funder Id:, Grant Number: KYLX16_0871. Chinese National Natural Science Foundation, Grant Number: 61802151

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Appendix

A: Book stacks illumination recording sheet.

DateLibraryWeather/TemperatureIlluminance(Lux)
Book Stacks Area (Lux)Reading Area (Lux)
Stack#Point 123456789MaxMin

B: Experimental recording sheet.

Time(Day/Night)LibraryParticipantIllumination on Stacks(Lux)Searching DurationSearching FrequencySearching Accuracy
A   
B   
C   
D   
E   
F   
G   
H   
I   
J   

C: Readers’ semi-structured interview questions.

Investigators are asked to randomly invite readers who are searching for books in the library reading rooms to participate in the interview. The interview time will be a maximum of 10 minutes. The investigators have the authority to change or revise the interview questions according to the participant. After the interview is completed, a small gift will be sent to the participants.
  1. Age:

  2. Gender:

  3. Department/College:

  4. Grade:

  5. How often do you search books on these shelves?

  6. Could you please estimate how long it takes during each search and how long it takes to find a single book?

  7. How accurate and efficient is each search? Do you often find it is not possible to find books? What are the possible factors could cause that situation?

  8. Do book stacks’ layout, tidiness, orientation, height and number of shelves as well as distance between book stacks affect the book-searching process?

  9. What special search habits do you have (i. e. searching sequence or direction etc.)?

  10. What is the effect of lighting on the efficiency of finding books on the shelves? What is the difference between clear/rainy and day/night searching experiences?

  11. How would you rate your satisfaction of book-searching at our library? What factors that influence your searching need to be improved most urgently in our library?

Received: 2018-05-23
Accepted: 2018-09-16
Published Online: 2019-02-26
Published in Print: 2019-03-26

© 2019 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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