Learning Commons Conference

I would love to go to the fifth annual Canadian Learning Commons Conference, in Kingston, Ontario, June 16-18, 2010. I may have to cut SLA a little short for this one, we'll see. Imagine a conference populated entirely with commons aficianados; into the wee hours we could talk research commons, new collaborations, user-centered design, and more!

How cool that presentations are only 20 minutes plus ten minutes for questions. Interested? You can submit a proposal until December 9.

Campus Library as Place is Dead?

Earlier this week at the EDUCAUSE conference in a discussion about the future of brick and mortar libraries, the Dean of Libraries from Syracuse was quoted as saying "Let's face it: the library, as place, is dead." As a commons aficionado, this is a rather jarring statement. Our students and faculty are increasingly relying on online collections, but they still need a space to gather and collaborate. As the Director of Libraries at Emory pointed out in the discussion, why did everyone travel to Denver for the conference? Conference content is increasingly available online. But of course, they were there to interact: "to talk, to collaborate, to think, to communicate, to be with one another. Isn’t that what we do in our best libraries?”

That is why I continue to be an avid supporter of the commons concept and the library as place.

Incidentally, a couple of interesting space articles were posted this week:

• This article from Campus Technology discusses the University of Calgary's Taylor Family Digital Library, considered the most technology advanced student library in Canada. The touch table capability in the facility sounds really interesting (Microsoft Surface maybe?). The article also touches on the "do we still need the library" debate, citing other examples of creative library spaces, so it's worth a look.
  
  
• Jim Jorstad has written this article in University Business about key elements for student learning space design and tips for success: remember the 35% rule, get your seat at the "big table," and so forth. He has done much work in learning space design so this is definitely worth a look as well.

Just in Time for Halloween

The zombies have returned to Georgia State University's library and are keeping students from the reference desk. Thankfully students can use the Ask a Librarian service to get the help they need and avoid hungry zombies. Cute video!

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.

Awesome Library Survival Guide

In building our undergraduate commons, Indiana University was one of our primary models. As we start our planning for a faculty/graduate student commons, we are looking at their concept once again. Today my friend Sarah shared a link to their Survival Guide for students. This is another brilliant idea worth imitating.

Reminiscent of a Worst Case Scenario survival guide, this clever handbook is filled with tips from "How to finish your research so you still have time for fun" and "How to find a good place to study" to "What to do if you break your arm and you still need to type a paper" and "What to do if you are stuck in an elevator."

The guide is filled with wry humor and interesting factoids ("There are 166 steps from the first to the tenth floor of the East Tower") as well as practical advice ("Watch out for passing buses, too. When they speed through a puddle, use your body as a shield to protect your books, not the other way around. In the long run, it will be less expensive.")

When I saw the link, I intended to simply flip through it but ended up reading the entire thing. Somehow they have managed to provide useful information and yet be quite funny and engaging. Take a look at IUB's Survival Tips. Brilliant!

Images from IUB's Survival Tips

New Commons at Tulane

The new Learning Commons at Tulane University will have its dedication ceremony on Wednesday. The description of the space includes the usual collaborative work areas, wireless access, and so forth. I like how they describe their help:

Just as important as the technology and amenities, the Learning Commons is also the place to interact one-on-one with research librarians, technology experts, and media specialists. These professionals are on hand throughout the day and evening to assist students with their research and learning activities.

I found a number of photos of the space on flickr. I am actually headed to New Orleans next month--hope I'll have time for a quick visit!

Image from Howard-Tilton Memorial Library

Zombies in the Commons

Here's a fun promotional video from Georgia State University's Learning Commons:



They've also posted a video tour of their commons.

Librarypalooza at CSU

Tis the season for welcome week events in academic libraries. Cardinal Stritch University's library just celebrated the start of school by hosting their Librarypalooza. I love the t-shirts! The above image is from their photo booth, which seems to be a universally popular activity. Check out more photos of their event.