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With the technological innovation dominating higher education, the university libraries, as physical spaces, continue to play a crucial role in connecting students with knowledge. The emergence of the “Learning Commons” serves as a catalyst in the design of library spaces, renewing libraries’ roles and missions and making them popular to Millennials for new reasons. This study aims to record Greek librarians' views on the current situation in Greek academic libraries regarding physical space design, services provided and the existence of the “Learning Commons” model characteristics.

This study was conducted through an online survey structured questionnaire (closed-ended, five-point Likert scale, multiple-choice and statements questions). This study population comprised librarians working in 37 academic institutions and colleges. The collected data were subjected to descriptive statistical analysis. The research questions were answered using variables creation and the tests, t-test, ANOVA and Kruskal–Wallis. The groups of questions were tested for their reliability using the Cronbach's alpha coefficient.

In total, 186 librarians responded to this study. The responses revealed that participants were willing and ready to accept and support a different approach to academic library physical spaces use, according to the shared learning spaces model. However, this requires changes in the organization's vision, further growth and evolution. Although recently most Greek academic libraries have made significant progress in developing their services to function as information and digital hubs, they do not function as learning collaborative hubs, since the “Learning Commons” model is not reflected in their buildings.

The creation of new academic libraries according to the “common” model is a rapidly evolving issue that affects Greek libraries. This paper highlights the characteristics of libraries that should be adopted in the modern era, the new roles of academic librarians and the importance of an appropriate design of the physical space to achieve optimal learning outcomes. At the same time, this paper is one of the few that illustrates librarians', and not users', perceptions of these changes. This paper is a good research example, and the methodology for measuring this type of context could be used by other future research approaches in other countries.

Systematic efforts to study students' use of informal learning spaces are crucial for determining how, when and why students use such spaces. This case study provides an example of an effort to evaluate an informal learning space on the basis of students' usage of the space and the features within the space.

Use of heatmap camera technology and a semi-structured interview with a supervisor of an informal learning space supported the mixed-methods evaluation of the space.

Findings from both the heatmap outputs and semi-structured interview suggested that students' use of the informal learning space is limited due to the location of the space on campus and circumstances surrounding students' day-to-day schedules and needs.

Findings from both the heatmap outputs and semi-structured interview suggested that students' use of the informal learning space is limited due to the location of the space on campus and circumstances surrounding students' day-to-day schedules and needs. These findings are actively contributing to the authors’ institution’s efforts surrounding planning, funding and design of other informal learning spaces on campus.

While most research on instructors' and students' use of space has taken place in formal classrooms, some higher education scholars have explored ways in which college and university students use informal spaces around their campuses (e.g. Harrop and Turpin, 2013; Ramu et al., 2022). Given the extensive time students spend on their campuses outside of formal class meetings (Deepwell and Malik, 2008), higher education institutions must take measures to better understand how their students use informal learning spaces to allocate resources toward the optimization of such spaces. This mixed-methods case study advances the emerging global discussion on how, when and why students use informal learning spaces.

Physical environments, especially the sound environments of ILSs on a university campus, have become increasingly important in satisfying the diverse needs of students. Poor sound environments are widely acknowledged to lead to inefficient and underutilised spaces and to negatively influence students' learning outcomes. This study proposes two hypotheses to explore whether students' sound environment perceptions are related to their individual characteristics and whether students' preferences for the type of ILS are related to their sound environment sensitivities.

An investigation through a questionnaire survey has been conducted on both students' individual characteristics affecting their sound environment perceptions in informal learning spaces (ILSs) of a university campus and their sensitivities to the sound environments in ILSs affecting their preferences for the type of ILSs.

The research findings indicate that students' sound environment perceptions are associated with some of their individual characteristics. In addition, the results show that students' sound environment sensitivities affect their preferences for the type of ILS they occupy.

This study could help architects and managers of university learning spaces to provide better sound environments for students, thereby improving their learning outcomes. The article contributes valuable insights into the correlation between students' individual characteristics, sound environment perceptions and preferences for ILSs. The research findings add to the existing knowledge in this field and offer practical implications for enhancing design and management of university learning environments.

This paper investigates the moderating-mediation roles of synchronous and asynchronous learning, as well as virtual self-efficacy between digital learning space experience and continuous use among learners in Ghanaian institutions of higher learning.

A convenience sampling technique was used in the selection of 604 students who answered questions on digital learning space experience, synchronous and asynchronous learning, virtual self-efficacy and learner continuous use within the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. The study employed regression analysis to measure the hypothesized paths.

The findings show that asynchronous learning partially mediates between digital learning space experience and learner continuous use, but the mediating effect of synchronous learning between digital learning space experience and learner continuous use was not significant. Further, virtual self-efficacy significantly moderates the mediated relationship between asynchronous learning and learner continuous use, but the moderated mediated role of synchronous learning was not established in the study.

Generalization of the study findings is limited due to the sampling scope, which was restricted to students of IHL in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

In this research, the academic scope of digital transformation was expanded from both digital structure elements and psychological perspectives within the domain of higher education literature.

This article explores the scientific construction of library olfactory space, based on the case of the olfactory space in the Jiangsu University library. It specifically focuses on understanding the interaction between the physical architectural space of the library and users’ olfactory perception and behavioral activities, with the ultimate goal of creating a deeply integrated olfactory experience in the Jiangsu University Library.

In this article, an empirical research method was used to gather perceptions from 30 university student users regarding the library olfactory space and to understand their olfactory preferences and requirements for its construction. Through qualitative analysis of the interview texts, the study identified correlations between user perceptions and elements of the library olfactory space.

The qualitative analysis of user interview texts and results from the library olfactory space design experiment contributed to the design proposal for the Jiangsu University Library olfactory space. The design proposal for the Jiangsu University Library olfactory space is provided and includes library architecture, activity context, functional services, olfactory experience design and technological applications.

This case study takes the environment, development strategy and user needs of the Jiangsu University Library as its unique research background and as such is not universal or generalizable to other libraries.

This article differs from others by advocating for the innovative architectural spatial design of libraries through olfactory experience, breaking the traditional perception of libraries as solely through visual and auditory senses.

Compared with traditional methods relying on manual teaching or system modeling, data-driven learning methods, such as deep reinforcement learning and imitation learning, show more promising potential to cope with the challenges brought by increasingly complex tasks and environments, which have become the hot research topic in the field of robot skill learning. However, the contradiction between the difficulty of collecting robot–environment interaction data and the low data efficiency causes all these methods to face a serious data dilemma, which has become one of the key issues restricting their development. Therefore, this paper aims to comprehensively sort out and analyze the cause and solutions for the data dilemma in robot skill learning.

First, this review analyzes the causes of the data dilemma based on the classification and comparison of data-driven methods for robot skill learning; Then, the existing methods used to solve the data dilemma are introduced in detail. Finally, this review discusses the remaining open challenges and promising research topics for solving the data dilemma in the future.

This review shows that simulation–reality combination, state representation learning and knowledge sharing are crucial for overcoming the data dilemma of robot skill learning.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no surveys that systematically and comprehensively sort out and analyze the data dilemma in robot skill learning in the existing literature. It is hoped that this review can be helpful to better address the data dilemma in robot skill learning in the future.

This paper aims to look at the implementation of project-funded research governance and its potential to induce organisational learning on responsible research and innovation (RRI). This paper analysed what types of organisational learning and change can take place within organisations of an Europe-funded project and to what extent. This paper examined whether and how change occurs and how it is shaped and co-produced with other orderings.

The paper is based on materials and evidence collected while working on the internal evaluation of a Horizon 2020-funded project. Analysis of the results of the mixed methods evaluation design was used to characterise occurrences of organisational learning and change.

The authors identified different forms of learning (single-loop learning, double-loop learning, reflexive and reflective learning and situational learning). The extent of learning that could lead to long-lasting organisational change was limited. This was due to the project-based and organisational design, the key-based definition of RRI and the indeterminacy of what constitutes learning and change – both at the level of funding and performing the project. For organisational change to occur, the authors argue for governance mechanisms based on reflexive learning that consider a range of structural conditions and measures.

Organisational learning plays an important role in change processes, which has so far been given too little consideration concerning the governance and implementation of RRI through project-based funding. The authors argue for a restructuring of governance and funding mechanisms to create more space for reflexivity and learning.

Spatial olfactory design in the library appears to be a practical approach to enhance the coordination between architectural spaces and user behaviors, shape immersive activity experiences and shape immersive activity experiences. Therefore, this study aims to explore the association between the olfactory elements of library space and users’ olfactory perception, providing a foundation for the practical design of olfactory space in libraries.

Using the olfactory perception semantic differential experiment method, this study collected feedback on the emotional experience of olfactory stimuli from 56 participants in an academic library. From the perspective of environmental psychology, the dimensions of pleasure, control and arousal of users’ olfactory perception in the academic library environment were semantically and emotionally described. In addition, the impact of fatigue state on users’ olfactory perception was analyzed through statistical methods to explore the impact path of individual physical differences on olfactory perception.

It was found that users’ olfactory perception in the academic library environment is likely semantically described from the dimensions of pleasure, arousal and control. These dimensions mutually influence users’ satisfaction with olfactory elements. Moreover, there is a close correlation between pleasure and satisfaction. In addition, fatigue states may impact users’ olfactory perception. Furthermore, users in a high-fatigue state may be more sensitive to the arousal of olfactory perception.

This article is an empirical exploration of users’ perception of the environmental odors in libraries. The experimental results of this paper may have practical implications for the construction of olfactory space in academic libraries.

Online/Digital cultural heritage platforms have the potential to serve as empowering sites and tools for democratic participation, and for promoting social cohesion, acting as convergence points for diverse societal groups. They enable the gathering of multiple voices, including those of minorities and groups often marginalised in mainstream cultural heritage documentation. This research paper examines the ways in which these aspirations of cultural heritage platforms as meeting, learning and dialogic spaces for connecting and empowering online communities have been realised.

Using a qualitative design, interviews were conducted with users of New Zealand’s Auckland War Memorial Museum’s Online Cenotaph. Participants shared their experiences with the platform, perceptions of it as a collective social history resource and views on its role as a participatory space for online communities. They also discussed their expectations for its development as an online space for collective memorialisation.

Interviews revealed that users value Online Cenotaph for placing personal, publicly contributed memories and narratives alongside primary military sources. Participants expressed feelings of civic responsibility, social awareness and a sense of identity and connection through their use and contribution to this online commemorative space. The shift from a one-way flow of information from the Museum towards embracing public contribution embodying a high-trust approach, was a notable finding.

This research underscores the evolving role of museums and other GLAM institutions in recognising the importance of inclusivity, diversity and community participation. It provides insights into how digital cultural heritage social platforms can contribute towards these goals and promote social cohesion. This research is also a starting point for further studies on crowdsourcing and social Web activities on digital cultural heritage platforms as sites of community building through public participation and engagement in historical/cultural heritage narratives.

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.

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.

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.

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.