The study presents data from a survey of 1,065 college students about their use of their academic library café. The study includes data on the percentage of students are aware of the existence of a library café on campus, and who have purchased anything at that café. In addition, it presents detailed info on average spending in the past week in the library café and student evaluation of the quality of food and drink in the library café. In an open-ended question, it lists suggestions from more than 550 students about what they would like to see in their academic library café.
Data in the report is presented in the aggregate and then broken out separately for fifteen different variables including but not limited to: college grades, gender, income level, year of college standing, SAT/ACT scores, regional origin, age, sexual orientation, race & ethnicity, college major and other personal variables, and by Carnegie class, enrollment size and public/private status of the survey participants institutions of higher education.
Just a few of this 65-page report’s many findings are that:
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Students raised abroad or in the Northeast were significantly more likely than those raised in the South or Midwest to have ever made a purchase at the library café.
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Females were somewhat more likely than men to have purchased something at the library café.
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Among the various subject areas, students in the fine and performing arts had spent the least in the past week in the library café, a mean of just $3.82.
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Older students were particularly unimpressed and those raised abroad were particularly impressed with the quality of the food and drink in the library café.