Biking to Academic Success: A Study on a Bike Desk Implementation at an Academic Library

Abstract

Sedentary behavior has increased over the last several decades, and this has led to major life-threatening health issues. Texas A&M University Libraries has introduced an innovative idea in three of their buildings. This case study highlights the implementation of Bike Desks at an academic library while offering strategies for other libraries wishing to replicate this project, and analyzes data from a user survey. The survey explored student experiences, including perceived satisfaction and any perceived gains in study habits while using the Bike Desk.

Academic Library Innovation: A Selective Review

“…In recent years, listening to user needs and finding ways to implement viable solutions have resulted in new library spaces for: meditation or prayer rooms (Ramsey and Aagard 2018;Mross and Riehman-Murphy 2018), gender neutral/inclusive bathrooms (Pun et al 2017), specially designed lactation rooms and family-friendly spaces (Godfrey et al 2017;Graff, Ridge, and Zaugg 2019), and bike desks or "activity-permissive workstations" (Hoppenfeld et al 2019).…”

“A Lot of Flexibility within the Structure”: Academic Library Collection Development & E-Resources Management from an Athletics Perspective

“…Academic libraries have an established history of collaborating with their institutions' athletics departments in order to provide academic and research support to student-athletes. However, while examples of libraries engaging in outreach and providing academic support to student-athletes (Caniano, 2015;Davidson & Peyton, 2007;Sapp & Vaughan, 2017), developing specific collections pertaining to athletics (Ames, 2012;Gustafson & Meese, 2016), and even offering exercise equipment in their buildings (Hoppenfeld, Graves, Sewell & Halling, 2019) are fairly common in the literature, I believe that describing how athletics has influenced the professional work of an academic librarian is unique.…”