Third Spaces in Academic Libraries

Abstract

What Is a Third Space? This is a good question, and one that libraries have been considering for years. At the Edith Garland
Dupré Library on the campus of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, we have been thinking
about this concept and exploring how it shapes the way we engage with knowledge, community,
and creativity. What we have provided here is not presented as an exhaustive or overly authoritative
report but instead provides enough information to illustrate our thought process and highlight the
types of research that guided, and continues to guide, the development of our programs.