Assessing a Graduate Commons in the Library: Graduate Students Need an Identified Third Space

Introduction The University of Calgary is a four-year doctoral institution. In 2016–2017, there were 5,672 full time graduate students attending University of Calgary.1 While there are offices or work spaces in their departments for many graduate students, the space can vary greatly in terms of suitability, utility, access, and comfort. In fall 2016, in order to meet some of the need for space by graduate students, Libraries and Cultural Resources opened a newly renovated space, the Alan MacDonald Graduate Commons, a shared space intended to provide space for graduate students who are at the stage of intensive research and writing. Students registered late in the fall and were assigned swipe card access to the room to the end of April 2017. In order to determine the utility and effectiveness of the space and its features, students were surveyed in April 2017. Results showed that the students used the space to improve and enhance their learning, research and productivity output.