Ethnographic Study – Access to Snell Library

Ethnographic Study – Access to Snell Library

This paper analyzes the behavior of people entering Snell Library on Northeastern University campus on 09/19/11 between 4:10 PM and 5:10 PM. We decided as a group to set up three different observation points in order to get a holistic view of the access and identification process: Outside Snell Library (2 people), at the registration desk close to the entrance (2 people) and the circulation desk (1 person). In total, we counted 596 people entering the library in the observation period. We received approval to conduct this study from both the individual staff working at the registration and circulation desk and Brian Greene, Head of Access Services at Northeastern University.

Each observation point will be discussed separately taking the three steps - process, observation and findings - into account. The last part of this paper consists of a conclusion, introducing and discussing alternative new products to increase efficiency and convenience of the access process.

The first observation point was outside Snell Library where two team members counted incoming students and non-Northeastern people. They focused on students who already had their cards out prior to entering the library doors (210 people), those that were looking through their bags and wallets while entering the library (139 people) and those that weren't displaying any of the aforementioned actions (247 people).

When there was a line forming outside the doors, everyone in line had time to take their cards out because of the waiting time until the line disappeared. Because of the additional time people had to look for their cards, the process got more efficient.

Another observation was that during the busy times, students were more likely to have their card out and ready to go.

The second observation point was at the registration desk where Northeastern students need to show their Husky ID. As the first floor of Snell Library is open to public, non-Northeastern University patrons sign in by providing their name and permanent address to the proctors. One proctor signs in that person, while the other checks the Husky ID of Northeastern students.

Only 12 people needed to sign in at the registration desk and it took approximately 15-20 seconds per person. Even after subtracting those 12 people from the 244 inactive people 39% of the students remain that don't search for their ID prior to entering the library. This created bottlenecks when students struggled to find their Husky IDs and encouraged other students to pass by without showing their cards. Proctors had to shout a few times (about three to five times in the hour) to make sure that each patron or student showed some form of identification. Most of the people that we observed got caught when they tried to sneak through without