NYU Library Visit

Last week I had the pleasure of touring NYU's Bobst Library. I have walked by the massive building so many times but had never been inside--it is a very impressive space.

To complement the 2004 renovation of two floors to create the Brine Library Commons for undergraduates, the library is now undergoing a major renovation on two upper floors to develop a research commons which incorporates significant student feedback into the plan.

See this report for background and this LibGuide for floor plans and other information about the project. The new research commons is scheduled to open in Oct-Nov this year.

The pictures I took did not do justice to the library, but I did want to highlight a couple of creative additions to various spaces: the whiteboard walls in one collaboration space and the reservable portable storage cabinets in another. Neat ideas, particularly with the storage as we have heard repeatedly from our own graduate students how important it is to have large, lockable storage spaces. I am looking forward to my next visit.

Our Research Commons Project

A few months ago I mentioned that I've been looking for examples of research/scholarly/faculty commons as I am chairing a campus group creating a plan for our research commons. I am still very interested in your thoughts and ideas in this area--please leave a comment or contact me directly.

So far in our process, we have conducted one focus group with graduate students with two more in the works: one for faculty and another for graduate students. We are asking pretty broad questions to get their impressions about services, expertise, facilities, and so forth. We are also in the process of developing surveys for faculty and graduate students. In general the responses so far haven't been terribly surprising--of course graduate students need comfortable chairs and coffee!--though we have learned great deal just after one meeting. I am looking forward to our next steps in the process and will post updates periodically.

The Next Commons

I am delighted to be chairing the Research Commons Working Group on my campus which will begin our work this fall. For some time we've been talking about how we might bring some new services to our main reference floor as well as rearrange the space to better meet faculty and graduate student needs. Over a year and a half ago, I collected some examples of faculty/scholarly/research commons projects. I am curious if more have been developed since that time and will be querying infocommons and Frye colleagues soon.

If any of you are involved in a faculty/scholarly/research commons, please share in the comments or contact me. I'd really like to talk with you about your experience. Thanks!

Graduate Student and Faculty Spaces and Services

I haven't seen the new ARL Spec Kit on Graduate Student and Faculty Spaces and Services yet, but I am really looking forward to it as we begin thinking about a research commons here focused on faculty and graduate student needs. It looks like the full kit includes a number of documents describing specific services and spaces, as well as marketing and outreach materials. This is definitely a must-read for me.

View the exective summary.

I'm aware that it is a growing trend for university libraries that started with a heavily-trafficked information/ learning commons focused on undergraduate needs to build on that success by looking at a similar collaborative project for graduate student and faculty needs. Last year as we began our research, I compiled a list of institutions with a "research commons" or a "scholarly commons" and I expect that number has increased. I'd be interested in hearing from others who are involved in similar projects.

Faculty Commons

I don't think of my recent posts as straying off topic--to me, many topics in information technology and librarianship are important to the commons--but I figured it was time for something focused specifically on the commons.

I've been thinking a lot lately about the concept of a faculty commons--basically a space for faculty collaboration and discussion, as well as a space to get in-depth help with library resources, course management software, using technology in the classroom, etc. We have a great relationship with several units on campus that are interested in discussing this further with us, though with looming budget cuts it's uncertain if such a project could become a reality any time soon.

I see a lot of possibilities in a faculty commons. As far as a collaborative space, we have a number of regular faculty visitors to the Hub--one is here almost daily to drink coffee and read or meet with a colleague. A more grown-up version of the Hub would have wider appeal among the faculty. We're often asked about reserving space down in the Hub but that's not really an option with our open floor plan. Of the faculty I've talked with, they've been really interested in a place here to get in-depth technology help--something beyond our help desk which handles basic questions like password resets.

IU is working on a similar project but they appear to be well underway (I'm still dreaming). This concept paper outlines many of the things I'd like to see us do. I've just started collecting a list of other institutions that offer some "faculty commons"-like experience:

• Brooklyn College
• Ohio University
• Michigan (faculty exploratory)
  
• Kansas (scholar services)
  
• Asbury College

I'd like to find more schools that offer these kinds of services and start a discussion with anyone who is interested.