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A theoretical model and empirical analysis of university library readers' spatial cognition

Yiping Jiang (Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China)
Yanhua Chen (Hangzhou Foreign Language School, Hangzhou, China)
Xiaobo Chi (Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China)

Library Hi Tech

ISSN: 0737-8831

Article publication date: 2 August 2022

210

Abstract

Purpose

The practice of renovation and construction of university libraries is flourishing, but how to attract readers to use the library is an issue that urgently needs to be explored. Spatial cognition is a subjective judgment of a person's tendency to take action in the future and implies behavioral intention. Based on the sensory–image–cognition relationship, a theoretical model of university library readers' spatial cognition is conducted, and the influencing factors and mechanisms of spatial cognition are explored based on empirical data to provide theoretical references for spatial practices in university libraries.

Design/methodology/approach

A visual and art-based mental map approach is introduced based on a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire is mainly used for the specific evaluation of spatial use and the breakdown of the detailed elements, while the mental map method is mainly used for the evaluation of readers' spatial cognition. Relevant empirical data are collected from the library of the Zhejiang University of Technology.

Findings

The results indicate that readers' spatial sensory experience and mental imagery have positive effects on readers' behavior via the mediator spatial cognition, readers' spatial sensory experience and mental imagery have a positive effect on readers' spatial cognition and spatial cognition has a significant effect on readers' behavior.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this study is to construct a theoretical model of readers' spatial cognition and to explore the factors that have an impact on spatial cognition and the influence of cognition on behavior. This provides a more rational and in-depth thinking paradigm for the study of university library space and provides theoretical references for library practice.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Humanities and Social Sciences Research Fund of the Chinese Ministry of Education [grant number 17YJA870003] and the Philosophy and Social Science Fund of Zhejiang Province [grant number 21NDJC039YB].

Citation

Jiang, Y., Chen, Y. and Chi, X. (2022), "A theoretical model and empirical analysis of university library readers' spatial cognition", Library Hi Tech, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHT-05-2022-0242

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2022, Emerald Publishing Limited

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