University of Rochester

The University of Rochester will create the Library Application for Study Space Engagement, a mobile app that will provide students with the mobile capability to examine the current occupancy of Rush Rhees Libraries' most coveted and celebrated study spaces. Relying on indirect wireless usage data rather than individual device information, the app will query the wireless access point infrastructure of library facilities. By doing so, this app will create a heat map of space occupancy in near real-time, empowering students to enhance their productivity, increasing their level of satisfaction with library services and spaces, and encouraging a more even distribution of studying students among less frequented spaces during cycles of high volume. Broader impact will come from providing peer institutions with source code and a blueprint for reproducing this project in similar environments.