The NC State University Libraries team that oversees the architecturally-renowned James B. Hunt Jr. and D.H. Hill Jr. Libraries wanted a solution to provide occupancy data to both students and administrators. Their focus was on the student experience and using data to inform their operational strategies.
They had their own head counting process and gate counter solution, but weren’t getting the level of granular real-time and historical data needed to present to students and accurately evaluate library space utilization.
The NC State University Libraries approached Occuspace to help them better understand when and how often their library spaces are used. They started with implementation at the Hill Library, then expanded the service to the Hunt Library.
The privacy-friendly occupancy monitoring sensors were installed in all 9 floors of Hill and nearly a dozen library-operated spaces in Hunt.
The historical space utilization data helps the Libraries leadership monitor occupancy in the installed spaces and report on trends for impact analysis – allowing them to make proactive changes to support student productivity and operational efficiency.
Students can view real-time crowd data on the “How busy is the Hill Library” and “How busy is the Hunt Library” websites and touch screens at library entrances.
“We appreciate the privacy-friendly approach that Occuspace presents us. Their data makes it easy to get a clearer picture of the usage in our most frequented campus libraries throughout the day.”
— Greg Raschke, Senior Vice Provost & Director of Libraries
The Libraries team has been able to more accurately analyze library usage by day and hour. They use Occuspace data to chart utilization across library buildings for trend evaluation and validation of their assumptions. The results help inform what furniture they use in higher and lower trafficked spaces.
They also evaluate historical occupancy data to set library hours based on actual occupancy. For shared spaces, they can assess how campus partnerships are or are not affecting space utilization and make decisions to maximize usage.
The way the NC State University Libraries uses Occuspace and how they present the data to students has helped influence other universities to follow suit. Since installing with the Libraries, Occuspace has also been deployed at the state-of-the-art NC State Recreation and Wellness Center at the heart of campus.
Contact Us to learn more about how Occuspace is helping university leaders optimize their physical spaces to better serve student and administrator needs.
