LibCal Seats: Academic Space Management

• LibCal Seats is an electronic seat reservation and occupancy management system developed for academic libraries to enforce health guidelines and manage peak demand.
• It features interactive seat-mapping, check-in/check-out workflows, and geolocation verification to enhance user convenience and regulatory compliance.
• Empirical data from ULiège demonstrates its effectiveness through iterative user feedback, ensuring equitable access and operational efficiency in high-traffic library areas.

LibCal Seats is an electronic seat reservation and occupancy management module used in academic library environments to regulate access to study spaces. Developed to support compliance with health regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic, and subsequently optimized for post-pandemic peak demand management, the system offers interactive seat selection, check-in/check-out workflows, and integrated communication features. A detailed case at the University of Liège (ULiège) demonstrates the module's operational workflows, user feedback analytics, targeted improvements, and best practices for academic libraries seeking to balance equitable access, systematic control, and user convenience (Renaville et al., 26 Jan 2026).

1. System Architecture and Functional Overview

The LibCal Seats module utilizes an interactive seat-map interface designated "Book It," allowing users to reserve specific seats for defined periods. Bookings can be made within configurable windows (initially up to 10 days in advance, reduced to 3 days in December 2023), and each reservation is constrained by a maximum duration (4 hours from September 2020 to May 2022, extended to 10 hours thereafter). The system incorporates both alphanumeric and QR code-based check-in, with a configurable grace period (default 30 minutes, up to 120 minutes since June 2023) after which unclaimed reservations are automatically cancelled. Confirmation is disseminated via email with an attached .ics calendar invite containing seat location and check-in code; initially, a 24-hour reminder email was included but later disabled after user feedback. Recent customizations include geolocation-based check-in (April 2024) to prevent remote validation, multilingual and graphic charter-aligned interfaces, and interactive floor plans to facilitate space visualization (Renaville et al., 26 Jan 2026).

2. Motivations and Deployment Chronology

The initial deployment in September 2020 was a direct response to pandemic-driven social distancing requirements, with explicit objectives to enforce occupancy limits, eliminate physical queueing, and support scheduled ventilation breaks. As regulatory pressures subsided, the utility of seat booking for peak demand management and equitable space allocation persisted. Accordingly, ULiège retained the system for selected branches—particularly during exam/campaign periods and in high-traffic locations such as the Reading Room and Health Library. Sequential feature expansions, interface enhancements, and policy adjustments were shaped by empirical user feedback and operational requirements, including the introduction of geolocation-based check-in and updated booking duration policies (Renaville et al., 26 Jan 2026).

3. Operational Metrics and Utilization Analytics

Empirical data on system utilization and space allocation provide key insights into operational efficiencies:

• Total seat capacity: $N_{total} = 2,222$
• User base: 26,600 students
• Space area per user: $0.48 \text{ m}^2$
• Occupancy rate (G): $G = \frac{\text{booked\_seats}}{2,222}$
• Booking duration: default limit of 4 hours extended to 10 hours in May 2022
• Advance reservation window: reduced from 10 to 3 days in December 2023

Response rates for two principal user surveys were $R_{2022} = 16.5\%$ and $R_{2023} = 4.7\%$. The quantitative structure supports longitudinal comparisons and iterative system refinement (Renaville et al., 26 Jan 2026).

4. User Perceptions, Behavioral Patterns, and Identified Issues

User surveys (June–July 2022, October 2023) assessed perceived practicality, usability, and pain points. Key results include:

• 81.6% found the system practical during peak periods.
• 86.4% reported the booking process as “easy” or “fairly easy.”
• 91.4% (2023) determined the 10-hour booking duration to be sufficient.
• Commonly cited advantages: avoidance of unnecessary travel, elimination of queueing, and conflict reduction.
• Issues: 74.1% experienced “no-shows” (reserved seats unused), 64.3% admitted to occupying unreserved seats, and 32.8% described validation as “rather restrictive.”
• Operational pain points: mobile interface usability, difficulty relating map icons to seat locations, and access code visibility (ameliorated by moving codes to email subject lines in response to complaints).

Assessment methods employed descriptive statistics only; no inferential analysis or dispersion metrics were reported (Renaville et al., 26 Jan 2026).

5. Systemic Enhancements and Best Practices

Several improvements addressed feedback-driven requirements:

• Communication: on-site signage, roll-ups, and targeted awareness campaigns.
• Interface: deployment of interactive floor plans, mobile-responsive design, and calendar invite improvements.
• Access control: geolocation-based check-in to prevent remote abuse, integration of check-in/out workflows.
• Policy: extension of booking maximums and compression of advance windows to manage user expectations.
• Recommendations include limiting the system to high-demand periods, deploying integrated check-in/out with geolocation, standardizing rules across sites, supporting mobile and visual navigation, providing calendar-based reminders with access codes, and establishing iterative feedback loops via periodic surveys.

A summary of major system features and enhancements is presented below:

Feature/Enhancement	Initial State	Subsequent Adjustment
Max booking duration	4 hours	10 hours (May 2022)
Booking-advance window	10 days	3 days (Dec 2023)
Check-in method	Alphanumeric/QR code	Geolocation (April 2024)
Reminder email	24 hr pre-booking	Suspended (2023)
Floor plans/interface	Static	Interactive/mobile (June 2023/2024)

6. User-Centered Service Design and Institutional Considerations

Systematic, user-centered assessment forms a core element of the LibCal Seats implementation at ULiège. Survey-driven iterative refinement underpins balancing systematic controls (reservation, validation) with user convenience (mobile compatibility, visualization tools). Institutions contemplating similar deployments are encouraged to prioritize limited pilots, configure booking/validation conservatively, integrate geolocation features, and maintain a feedback-response cycle guided by occupancy analytics (e.g., $G$, response rates) and qualitative commentary (Renaville et al., 26 Jan 2026).

7. Broader Implications and Transferable Insights

The ULiège experience affirms the viability of LibCal Seats as a scalable solution for space management in academic libraries. Key takeaways for transferability include the establishment of clear deployment objectives (regulatory compliance, crowd control, equitable access), incremental roll-out, conservative configuration with iterative adaptation, and incorporation of mobile and visual access tools. The process underscores the necessity of persistent user engagement, systematic analysis of empirical usage data, and responsive modification of policies and interfaces (Renaville et al., 26 Jan 2026).