Learning Spaces Conversation

This conversation about learning spaces from the 2008 EDUCAUSE Conference is well worth a listen. Participants in this 35 minute podcast:

• Joan Lippincott, Associate Executive Director, Coalition for Networked Information
• Clare C. van den Blink, Assistant Director, Academic Technology Services & User Support, CIT, Cornell University
• Martin Lewis, Director of Library Services & University Librarian, Sheffield University, UK
• Crit Stuart, Director, Research Teaching and Learning, Association of Research Libraries
• Lauren Brady, IT Space Coordinator, Missouri University of Science and Technology

The speakers discuss some common issues that are familiar to many of us, but they also offer new ideas and left me with more things to think on further. I've summarized a few themes from the podcast with my own comments:

Beautiful spaces alone won't do it. We should know this already. Pretty furniture and new paint don't make the commons. Services do, people do.

Beautiful spaces are nonetheless an important part of it. This includes aspects like a good location, a view (thank goodness we have video windows), food, comfortable furniture that can easily be rearranged. We hear this often, I say this often, and it's true: everything should be on wheels. More importantly, we should not create a space based solely on our experience or our desires--to be successful, you have to involve students in your ongoing design process. This leads into my next point...

Big people don't necessarily know what students need or how they work. (Some of my colleagues refer to ourselves as "the big people." I suppose there are worse ways to generalize the non-student population.) Anyway, "the big people" need to get out more often and talk to students. Talk to front line staff, particularly student assistants. Student assistants can give you two perspectives: as an employee but also as a student user of the space. Listen to what they say, consider their suggestions. In addition to talking with students, simply observe the space in use. And don't observe 8 am - 5 pm. Too often "the big people" make that mistake. I cover night shifts here and there during the semester, but I also make it a point to visit at night during dead week/finals week to see how things are working during peak usage.

These are just a few of the things I've been thinking about since listening to the podcast. So go ahead, check it out!

Millennials Relying Less on Traditional IT Support

ReadWriteWeb reports on a study of millennials and their technology support preferences. The study finds that millennials are increasingly supporting their own technology needs at work, in fact often going around the IT department. More than one third of those surveyed indicated that they were dissatisfied with workplace technology offerings. This is particularly true of millennial employees using social software applications, and over 25% of those surveyed use these technolgies without support and even against company policy. And as far as IT policy:

A staggering 60% of the employees surveyed by Accenture argue that they are unaware of their companies' IT policies or that they are simply not interested in following them.

We're already seeing this on our campuses as students turn to Gmail over campus systems (or even avoid email altogether in favor of texting or Facebooking). What we support and how we support it will have to change in order to better meet student desires.

Student Input on Library Workspaces

The current issue of EDUCAUSE Quarterly includes an article about student input in developing learning commons spaces, Learning Curve: Adapting Library Workspaces, by James C. Haug. I think student input is essential--after all, why else are we here? Haug writes about Longwood University which sought input from students regarding their new information commons space, focusing on two themes:

Do students like the new learning spaces? Do students view the changes as positive or negative, as evidenced by survey results and increased usage?

What other changes would maximize learning in the new library spaces? Would additional strategies, logistical arrangements, or other amenities improve learning in the new information commons/collaborative workstation areas?

He implemented a five-phase research process consisting of a focus group and a survey. Their students must be pretty happy, as over 75% of those surveyed were satisfited with privacy/noise, lighting levels, screen size, table work space, and chair comfort. Interestingly, they were most dissatisfied (63%) with the color of the fabric coverings on partitions. Perhaps this is a lesson to include students in future interior design discussions!

In analyzing the survey data, the library developed some recommendations based on the student input, including acquiring additional whiteboards, monitors, and chairs as budget permits. Other recommendations involved addressing noise issues, food policy, and signage.

Read the entire article from EDUCAUSE Quarterly.

How do you know if your commons is a campus hot spot?

I've been struggling with this for awhile. I've always said I want the Hub to be like K-Lair or POT or any number of things on campus that people clearly recognize by name. I would like every student on campus to at least know what the Hub is and what we can do for them. A lofty goal, I know.

Occasionally I'll chat with a student in a restaurant or at the mall and mention the Hub. Nearly always, they say "oh yeah, I've been there" or "I like working down there" or at least "yeah, I saw it on a tour." But at least they know what it is.

Last weekend I decided I must be doing something right. I hosted the UK Parents Advisory Council meeting in the Hub. Some of the parents commented that they already knew what the Hub was as their students had mentioned it to them. Wow. For a number of reasons, I am so glad I hosted the parents in the Hub. I've mentioned it on several occasions, and I'll say it again: it is so important to work with your Student Affairs office on campus. Work together on an joint event, promote their events, do whatever you can to help them and you'll be better for it.

Images are from the 2008 Hubbub.

Five Benefits of the Information Commons

Most of you have probably already seen today's post from Michael Stephens on the ALA TechSource blog, A "Commons" Experience: Five Benefits of the Information Commons. I couldn't agree more with these statements:

The Commons puts students at the center.
The Commons is built with student involvement.
The Commons is a welcoming, useful gathering place.
The Commons makes connections.
The Commons is a relevant, required space on campus.

Even if we aren't entirely there yet, these are certainly worthy goals. Read the entire post on the ALA TechSource blog.

Commons-Related Webcast Friday

Friday's EDUCAUSE Live webcast will feature Crit Stewart discussing A Space of One’s Own: Learning Environments Derived from User-Centered Discovery Techniques. From the summary:

Academic libraries are committed to delivering new or improved learning spaces for students. Information/learning commons are de rigueur for libraries seeking to refresh and deepen their engagements with undergraduate learners. The most noteworthy learning environments provide enhanced productivity capacities; exposure to collections and digital information; skills training for knowledge creation; and development of information, verbal, written, and multimedia fluencies.

Link to register now for this free professional development opportunity.

Kentucky Librarians Blogging

Last week I attended the Kentucky Convergence Conference. This has become one of my favorite area conferences as it is focused on higher education IT, instructional technologies, and libraries. The programming is similar to what yo might find at an EDUCAUSE conference, albeit on a much smaller scale. I think Convergence is one of the best conferences for higher ed in the state and would like to see more librarians participate.

Anyway, at the conference I was talking with a few librarians from another institution and realized that I have no idea who blogs at other Kentucky schools. I'd be interested in following all the blogs of my higher ed or library colleagues. But since we really aren't well-known bloggers, it can be hard to find us. I realized that I could only name a few Kentucky bloggers, but I know there must be many of us.

So with that in mind, I've created a wiki of Kentucky Library-Related Blogs. Please add to the wiki and encourage others to do so. Thanks!

Commons-Related EDUCAUSE Conference Presentations

For those who may have missed the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference last month, presentation materials are being posted daily to the EDUCAUSE Connect library. I attended the conference in 2003 and have been trying to return ever since. Of all the conferences I've attended, it was probably the best fit for me--then as the manager of desktop support services for the library system and now as the head of our campus information commons. Here's just a sampling of this year's presentations:

A Planning Process for Successful Learning/Information Commons. When we were planning our commons, it would have been so helpful to have this information from Crit Stewart, Joan Lippincott, and Malcom Brown. Thinking about Phase II of our project, I did find several takeaways from the Involving the Campus Community document in particular.

Emerging Learning Spaces. Presentation from Crit Stewart, AJ Kelton, and Joan Lippincott. Slides are pretty informative and are complemented with lots of images. Interesting to note that Second Life is one of the examples of an emerging learning space.

Bringing the Information Commons Home. Excellent overview of the commons at the University of Sheffield. Slides are full of vivid images--fun and interesting and definitely worth a look.

Library Lightning Round. I haven't read all of these materials yet but looks like there is some good stuff here, particularly the presentation on building a research commons. We've been increasingly talking about a research commons here at UK, and I suspect that IU will be one of our models, as they were when we began planning our undergraduate information commons.

Have MLS, Will Travel: How We Got Out of the Library and into Academic IT. This isn't really commons-related but I threw it in because it caught my eye (I've repeatedly been accused of wanting to defect to "the other side") I wish the slides had more information--it really looked like a fun and interesting presentation.

What is Common about Learning Commons?

In addition to reading The Tower and the Cloud, I've been looking at The Desk and Beyond: Next Generation Reference Services. The first essay by Tim Daniels and Caroline Cason Barratt, "What is Common about Learning Commons," discusses a survey the authors conducted. They received 147 responses to the survey which consisted of seventeen commons-related questions.

I encourage you to check out the full article as I shouldn't summarize all of their interesting findings here. Thinking about my own experience, I had to comment on at least a couple of things. Several of the responses surprised me a bit, particularly in the response to the challenges facing the learning commons. Respondents could indicate more than one category in this area:

Challenges in the Learning Commons

27.7% Clashing philosophies among partners
19.7% Increased noise
16.1% Funding facility/training
13.9% Increased traffic
7.3% Loss of library identity
6.6% Clashing philosophies among librarians

My first impression is that I once again realize how fortunate we are to have a friendly, productive relationship with IT. I know I've said it on this blog and you've probably heard me say it a dozen times if you've seen me give a presentation, but effective collaborations are key to a successful commons. Seeing that 27.7% of the respondents cite clashing philosophies with partners (and I'm guessing more often than not, partners like IT), reminds me how lucky we are that both groups here feel comfortable communicating and even criticizing constructively when needed.

I have to wonder how increased traffic could be considered a challenge. Yes I realize that respondents were probably thinking in terms of lines of people waiting for help, computers, chairs, and other resources. That is a challenge. I still think that's in the "good problem to have" category. I also think that about noise, but I suspect I'm in a minority there.

Funding and training are rather obvious issues. What surprises me here is that 100% of us didn't check that box.

All of these issues center around change, but I think loss of identity and a clash of philosophies among librarians could particularly be attributed to a fear of change. I realize that's not always the case, but it does concern me to hear about resistance to bringing in campus partners like IT (there's that loss of identity) and fighting internally over losing battles like food policy (there's those clashing philosophies among librarians).

What other challenges are we facing in the commons environment?

Popular Posts on the Information Commons

I've picked up some new readers, and I know I haven't been as focused on commons-specific items lately. I thought this would be a good opportunity to recap some of my commons-related posts. Most all of these are focused on the Hub, the information commons at the University of Kentucky.

The Hubbub
This is our big party to welcome students to campus and introduce students to the library and to the Hub.

2008 Hubbub, Our Biggest Party Yet

I did three separate posts on 2007 Hubbub:
Part One: Planning Activities
Part Two: Publicity
Part Three: Staffing

Video Windows
One of the most visually striking things about our space is our video windows art display. My post on the video windows includes a number of elements: our design process, early exhibits, staffing, publicity, future plans. (Incidentally, the blog companion to one of our first video windows exhibits was featured on BoingBoing last year and was even in the UK student newspaper, the Kernel, yesterday.)

Unusual Service Desks
Our service desks have gotten a fair amount of attention. I've answered a number of emails from colleagues around the world about the desks, so I thought it might be a good idea to create a post focused on the desks: why we chose them, how they've worked for us, future plans.

The Hub, The Video
Here's more about the video sensation sweeping the nation. Well, not quite. Maybe around campus for a few weeks there.

As always, if you want to know more about the Hub, feel free to contact me. Those who know me know that I could talk about the Hub all day long, and I'm not really exaggerating.

Tech Therapy: Libraries vs. IT

Tech Therapy is a regular podcast series from the Chronicle which examines important IT issues on campus. This particular Tech Therapy title caught my eye a few weeks ago. Libraries vs. IT? Wow, I definitely had to check that one out, as I've always seen myself in both camps or in the middle--never only a librarian or only an IT professional.

The hosts do a good job of identifying differences in our cultures but at the same time highlighting similarities of our missions. Are we really Mars and Venus? I encourage you to give it a listen.

Rethinking Research Libraries in the 21st Century

As vice chair of the libraries' faculty council, one of the exciting projects I've assisted in planning is a year-long conversation with our library faculty, "Rethinking Research Libraries in the 21st Century." Each month the Director or Associate Dean for a service area will give a presentation and lead a discussion about his/her area of expertise. Today we kicked off the series with a presentation from our Medical Center Library director about the future of academic health center libraries. It's pretty exciting stuff, and I know I'm interested in following this more closely. If you've seen the UK campus, it's very apparent that the medical center is where we are seeing tremendous growth.

I'm posting this here because we do plan to continue our discussions and post presentation materials on our Rethinking Research Libraries blog. Feel free to follow along!