While it’s been some time, we wanted to share the results of our October affiliation survey as the memory of our multiple daily queries fades into hazy memory. This survey is conducted each fall and spring, and gives us an idea of who is using which parts of the library. Thank you to all 2129 of you who responded to our survey! We have divided our data by floor, by time of day, day of the week, and of course, by program. Read on for more details!
Distribution by Floor:
It comes as no surprise that the seventh floor of the library continues to be our most popular floor. With a multitude of group study rooms and individual carrels to choose from this floor saw over 1000 patrons over the seven days we surveyed. This number is nearly equal to the three other floors combined. After the seventh floor, the fifth was our most popular at just under 400 during the seven-day span. This writer will be curious to see if that second-place spot shows even higher numbers this spring, with the addition of new furniture encouraging small groups to utilize common spaces. The sixth floor was our third most popular; potentially owing to the utilization of our two classrooms (something we will touch on when looking at program distributions later), and finally the fourth floor comes in fourth during this count, at 333 patrons total.
Distribution by Day of the Week:
Our most popular days here in the library seem to be Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with the bell curve sloping down around those days until it hits Saturday, our quietest day at the library. We noticed this drop in Monday’s popularity compared to the midweek days last time we did our survey, though a year ago, it was our busiest day in the library. If we compare our other days to years (or specifically Octobers) past, Thursdays have increased in popularity, while Fridays have decreased. Overall, the number of patrons in the library hasn’t changed that much from a year ago, but it is interesting to see the Tuesday through Thursday levels of activity increase.
Distribution by Time of Day:
Consistent with previous iterations of this survey, 3pm is the busiest time that we conduct the headcount at the library. We also see a continuation of the trend of 11am giving us higher patron numbers than 6pm or 9pm. However, in an exciting update, we noticed that more of you (both on a baseline and proportionally) are using the library at 9pm than you were a year ago! Last October, the number of patrons in the library at 9pm was forty people less than it was this October. We’re glad that folks are taking advantage of the hours that the library is open!
Floors by Time of Day
Looking at this chart, we can see what the most popular times for each floor are, and for anyone who’s ever been up on the seventh floor in the middle of the afternoon, it’s no surprise that 3pm is our busiest time, at a total of 357 patrons surveyed at that time alone. Looking at the other floors, the fifth and sixth floor look to be busiest at 3pm as well, with 137 and 134 patrons respectively, but the fourth floor shows that the morning is the most popular time at 144 patrons at that time. While the 9pm time slot is our quietest time at the library on all floors, it still makes a decent showing for itself, especially on the seventh floor (145 patrons).
Distribution by Program:
Dental students (853), you once again win the award for most use of the library spaces; congratulations! Medical students (551) and MBSers (396) you are up in second and third place, but we are glad to see folks from every surveyed group utilizing the library spaces. Tufts students from other campuses, welcome! Affiliates and folks from other hospitals, we’re glad you’re here! Our TUSMGP folks with Friedman, MPH and the PA program are making a good showing as well, and it’s good to see the Tufts Medical Center staff using our space as well. Our next section will examine how different affiliations are using each floor, and whether there are any clear preferences program to program.
Distribution of Programs by Floor:
Seeing all the blue in this shows us that the seventh floor is the most popular, and in terms of headcount, as we know it outstrips all other floors. However, let’s look at some programs that are using other floors more than the seventh. Starting from the bottom, we can see that Nutrition students are using the fifth floor more than any others, with a total of 28 students there. MPH also prefers other floors, the fifth and sixth floors with numbers on both in the 50s. With GSBS and other Tufts students also using the fifth floor more than any others, it seems that for many programs, the fifth floor is preferable to the seventh. As stated earlier in this post, I will be curious to see if this fifth floor popularity continues or even increases with the new furniture installed this winter creating spaces for smaller groups to sit and work.
Thank you all again for your help as we gathered these statistics! Stay tuned for this spring's affiliation heads up within the next few weeks!