The Library Morphs

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The Learning Commons

The Library Morphs

4/1/2008

By John K. Waters

The renovation project is now underway and, by this summer, Sinclair hopes to have the stacks moved out of the main-floor space the commons will occupy. "This is a big thing for a library," he says. "We're talking major real estate on the main floor and dedicating it to this purpose. You'll see it first thing as you come in the main door. It says: This is what's important to us now."

Sinclair notes that the university is considering adding some specialized software to the commons, as well as some audio/video capabilities, selfhelp graphics services, and color imaging, which together would make it a one-stop laboratory for out-of-class assignments, writing, research, group projects, individual study, and recreational usage.

Asheville has begun assembling a list of vendors that might provide the flexible furnishings for its new commons, including Agati, Brodart, Herman Miller, Library Furniture International, Sauder Education, and Thos. Moser.

Sinclair is currently referring to the space as both a "collaborative learning commons" and "a collaboratory for undergraduate research and learning." Whatever name the university finally settles on, Sinclair is emphatic about what this space won't be. "This will not be a static computer lab," he insists. "I've made trips to other libraries and I've seen them creating what amounts to computer labs, with fixed desktop machines and partitions that prevent the students from gathering the way they would naturally. That's not what we're doing here at all. Nothing will be nailed down. The computers will be wireless and the furniture will be movable. We won't be dropping any cable, either. This is a space that will evolve and change. And we may even drop the word 'commons,' because it's getting a bit long in the tooth."

Best advice from the pundits: Don't fall in love with any particular technology. A good thing about a "learning commons" project is that it takes so long to complete, you'll see technology trends come and go. The technological capabilities of these spaces are no longer key defining characteristics.

Catering to Digital Natives

Lynn Scott Cochrane, director of the Denison University library in Granville, Ohio, sees a similar, if smaller-scale, evolution at her campus library. Denison is currently in the planning stages of its own renovation, and the notion of student-controlled learning spaces is emerging as part of the plan. The small liberal arts college located at the northern end of Appalachia serves only 2,000 undergraduates, but Cochrane says the main library is "absolutely hopping," and needs to adapt to the learning styles of its technologyoriented student body.