The International Information & Library Review· 2026Q2
Reimagining Academic Libraries as Wellness Spaces: Implications for Ghanaian Universities
- 0citations
- Q2SCImago
- 2026year
Short summary
Academic libraries can be reimagined as wellness spaces, incorporating areas for relaxation and reflection alongside traditional academic resources, a concept supported by international evidence and a new theoretical framework.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- Wellness spaces in academic libraries are designed to support psychological and physical wellbeing, not just academic tasks.
- International evidence supports the positive impact of such spaces on student wellbeing and engagement.
- A new theoretical framework integrates salutogenic design, biophilic design, and third place theory to explain these impacts.
- The paper makes a case for implementing wellness spaces in Ghanaian university libraries, a context previously unexamined in literature.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
A growing number of academic libraries internationally have begun incorporating wellness spaces—games corners, relaxation zones and quiet reflection areas—reflecting a wider conviction that student wellbeing and academic performance are inseparable. This conceptual paper defines the wellness space as a deliberately designed library area intended to support student psychological and physical wellbeing rather than academic task performance alone, and synthesizes the international evidence for such spaces. It develops an integrated theoretical framework combining salutogenic design, biophilic design, and Oldenburg’s third place theory to explain why these interventions affect student wellbeing and engagement, and applies this framework to build a case for why Ghanaian university libraries—a context the published literature has not yet examined—should engage with this agenda. The paper concludes with resource-realistic recommendations, framed as directions for practice and further research, addressed to library management and institutional leadership.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. The International Information & Library Review, 2026 · DOI ↗
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Field: Library and Information Sciences
Library and Information SciencesSocial Sciences