Introduction

My son visited his mates in their first year of university. Upon his return, I was keen to hear what they thought about the campus. Having been to the University for a meeting, I was aware that it had a large, modern library with fantastic courtyard views over lush gardens. Although one of my university libraries has a wonderful view overlooking the Royal Albert Docks in London, I confess to having a bit of garden envy.

‘Good weekend?’ I asked. ‘Yeah, good,’ he said in near-monosyllabic detail. ‘They have a great library,’ I said, foraging for a more textured response. He is used to excitement about libraries from me. He has what I hope are fond memories of whiling away the time in the children's section in the local public library, flipping through picture books.

‘Oh, I don't even think they know where that is,’ he laughed.

Well, it's there when they discover they need it, I thought to myself. Unsurprisingly, in the heady, early days of university life, the ‘perceived value’ of the university library may not be obvious to some students. However, as course demands set in (such as the need for learning resources, study spaces and research skills development), the library's value comes to the fore. Bain & Company Inc. identify 30 elements of value for customers, and group them on a pyramid in four categories: functional, emotional, life changing and social impact – like Maslow's hierarchy of needs (Almquist et al., 2016). The functional or lowest rung of the ladder covers basic needs.