The Evacuation Behaviors of University Library Users

This study analyzed the evacuation behaviors of university libraryusers. University libraries are characteristic of the “one room” buildingsconstituted by open spaces, multiple floors, a single main entrance/exit,and main stairways. These features affect users’ evacuation behaviorsin fire emergencies. Using questionnaire survey in four universitylibraries in Taiwan, this study statistically analyzed the fire evacuationbehavioral tendencies of 948 library users including library patronsand staffers. The findings show that, although many people chose theshortest path to approach the nearest stairway and exit, other peoplebased on their familiarity with the library buildings would choose pathsto stairways closest to the main exit. Therefore, a computer simulationprogram for fire evacuation based solely on the shortest path concept isirrational for the real library users. Furthermore, this study analyzed thevarious evacuation behaviors and attitudes based on users’ profiles ofage/sex, rank, and frequency of library visit. The results may shed lighton the human cognitive and information processes in hazard situationsand provide useful information for the planning of evacuation systems.