Study space is classified into five categories: study room, stack, open-stack study room, processing room, and study service. Offices used for library activities are coded as office facilities. A study space may contain equipment or materials that aid the study or learning process (e.g., computers, multimedia carrels, CD and DVD players, typewriters, records and tapes) and that do not restrict the space to a particular academic discipline or discipline group. Whereas a Study Room (410) may appear in almost any type of building on campus (e.g., academic, residential, student service), Stacks (420), Open-Stack Study Rooms (430), and Processing Rooms (440) are typically located in central, branch, and departmental libraries. Identification of library space should be made through the use of functional categories, and departmental space through the combined use of academic discipline and functional categories.
410 Study Space
Definition: A room or area used by individuals to study at their convenience, the space not being restricted to a particular subject or discipline by contained equipment.
Description: Includes study or reading rooms located in libraries, residential facilities, academic or student service facilities, study carrel and booth areas, and similar spaces that are intended for general study purposes. Study stations may be grouped, as in a library reading room, or individualized, as in a carrel. Study stations may include computers, typewriters, microform readers, CD and DVD players, or other multimedia equipment. The category Study Space includes spaces commonly termed “learning labs” or “computer labs” if they are not restricted to specific disciplines by contained equipment or software. Study spaces are primarily used by students or staff for learning at their convenience, although access may be restricted by a controlling unit (e.g., departmental study room).
Limitations: Does not include Open Laboratories (220) that are restricted to a particular discipline or discipline group. This category also does not include Lounges (650) that are intended for relaxation and casual interaction.
420 Stack
Definition: A space used to house arranged collections of educational materials for use as a study resource.
Description: Stacks typically appear in central, branch, or departmental libraries and are characterized by accessible, arranged, and managed collections. Collections can include books, periodicals, journals, monographs, micromaterials, electronic storage media (e.g., tapes, disks, slides, etc.), musical scores, maps, and other educational materials.
Limitations: Does not include general storage areas for such materials that serve a particular room or area; such spaces would take the appropriate service code. Examples of these service spaces include tape storage rooms for language laboratories (see Open Laboratory Service-225), book storage rooms for classrooms (see Classroom Service-115), and music for general listening enjoyment (see Recreation Service-675). Also does not include collections of educational materials, regardless of form or type (i.e., from books to soils collections), that are for Exhibition (620) use rather than for study or reference.
430 Open-Stack Study Room
Definition: A combination study space and stack, generally without physical boundaries between the stack and study areas.
Description: Seating areas include those types of station and seating arrangements described under Study Room (410). The stack areas of these spaces may include any of the educational material collections described under Stack (420).
Limitations: Does not include Study Rooms (410) that have no stack areas. Those stack areas that have only a few incidental chairs or other seating, without a formally arranged study seating area, should be coded Stack (420). Institutions may wish to separate and code the seating or study areas (see Study Room-410) and Stack areas (see Stack-420) into separate space records. As with Stack (420) and Processing Rooms (440), Open-Stack Study Rooms (430) appear primarily in central, branch, and departmental libraries.
440 Processing Room
Definition: A room or area devoted to processes and operations in support of library functions.
Description: A processing room is intended for specific library operations that support the overall library mission. Included are card and microfiche areas, reference desk and circulation desk areas, bookbinding rooms, multimedia materials processing areas, interlibrary loan processing areas, and other areas with a specific process or operation in support of library functions.
Limitations: Areas that serve both as office stations and processing rooms should be coded according to primary use. Small incidental processing areas in larger stack or study areas should be included within the larger primary activity category (see Codes 410, 420, and 430). Does not include typical support spaces that serve study and other primary activity areas, such as storage rooms, copy rooms, closets, and other service-type spaces (see Code 455). Acquisitions work areas with a primary office use should be classified as Office (310).
455 Study Service
Definition: A space that directly serves study spaces, stacks, open-stack study spaces, or processing rooms as a direct extension of the activities in those spaces.
Description: Includes storage spaces, copy rooms, closets, locker rooms, coat rooms, and other typical service areas that support a primary study facilities room (see Codes 410, 420, 430, and 440). With the increasing implementation of wireless technology, service areas are migrating into the primary study space and stacks. Campuses need to adopt a consistent approach to using either predominate use or “phantom walls” to allow for the separation of service space. An example would be space occupied by routers, servers, or battery-charging equipment on the open floor of a library or student center.
Limitations: Does not include Processing Rooms (440) that house specific library support processes and operations (e.g., bookbinding rooms, multimedia processing rooms).