Abstract
This study explores the social spaces that were introduced into the University of
Johannesburg’s (UJ) libraries through the spatial transformations these campus libraries
underwent. The study was conducted in two of the four campus libraries, namely the
Auckland Park Kingsway (APK) Campus Library and the Auckland Park Bunting Road (APB)
Campus Library. Libraries across the world have implemented extensive changes in their
interiors over the past three decades. The UJ libraries’ transformations were driven by these
extensive changes.
The worldwide changes were prompted by the effect that technology and the internet have
on the “millennial” student generation. Having been born into a digital world, millennials are
“digital natives”, which, compared to previous generations, has impacted their learning and
socialisation habits (Prensky 2001). These habits need to be considered in teaching and
learning environments that support millennial students. The focus of this study is on the
academic library and the transformation of spaces to create social learning and library
communities within a higher education context. The seminal theory of “third place” by Ray
Oldenburg (1989), which is a social space away from both work and home, underpins this
study’s research. Third place is explored within the context of an academic library as a
catalyst in contributing to building a library community.
The study searches for the manifestation of third place and how the spatial transformation
within the UJ libraries supports this concept, as well as how it has led to cultivating a library
community. As the users of the spaces, the students were a central focus in data collection
in understanding their use of space, social learning within the library and their sense of a
library community, while ultimately aiming to understand how the library space supports this.
The study employs a qualitative approach within an interpretive constructivist paradigm. The
methodology and data collection methods were inspired by ethnography, framed by an
interior designer’s perspective. The research is grounded in the literature surrounding the
study’s topics and themes, creating the theoretical, guiding framework. The methods used to
collect a rich variety of data include observations, fifty three unstructured interviews, and ten
grand tours combined with semi-structured interviews.
The findings of the study uncover the impact the physical setting and transformation has in
supporting third place and in turn cultivating a sense of community. Students are found to
socialise within the library space, which leads to informal learning. The transformed spaces...
M.A. (Interior Design)