An evaluative comparison of the satisfaction with the utility of new buildings versus library additions and addition/renovations

This work provides a critical, comparative evaluation of the utility of academic libraries as perceived by library directors and library department heads. North American libraries which had undergone either a new construction or an addition project in the years 1971 through 1979 constituted the population base. A thirty-three item questionnaire divided into four sections was employed to gather the data. One section on respondent background information and three sections with Likert-scaled items related to public, technical, or audio-visual services were completed. The type of construction--either new or addition--was employed as the primary controlling variable for tests performed. Other controlling variables included the respondents' degree of involvement in the building programs, the volume capacities of the libraries, and the adjusted construction costs of the projects. Analyses of variance and t-tests were the primary statistical techniques used. The findings indicate that a higher level of satisfaction with utility exists for new buildings than for additions, that involvement in the building process has a direct, positive relationship to the perception of utility, and that a major problem relative to functional utility exists in audio-visual service areas for both new and addition project libraries. It was also found that directors and department heads agree on the functional utility of the buildings in which they work and that neither expenditure nor volume capacity has a bearing on the perceived level of utility.