The Information Commons: Our Mess is DONE (sort of...)

It’s been a busy time of remodeling, curriculum development and faculty formation!  And in all the kerfuffle of life, I never got around to following up on our Mess and Progress in creating our Information Commons.  So here goes…  

As of Friday, November 6^th, the last piece of lighting was installed and the Information Commons is officially complete.  Students, faculty, alumni and families have been enjoying the space since we opened in late August.  Rather than bore you readers with the details of incomplete cabinetry, back-ordered furniture and misspelled wall art… I thought I would frame this post in light of the happy surprises this project has created.

Zoning works!  We planned our space in light of retail design theory which calls for loud spaces up front with spaces becoming quieter and more personal as the user moves deeper into the space.  So our collaborative tables are near the door, small group tables are nestled within the shelving and personal seating is furthest back near the windows.  Adult presence is most dense in the front of the space – IT Helpdesk and 360 degree reference desk included.  Our surprise lies in the student understanding of zoning.  Our librarians were very intentional in explaining (during class visits, opening tours and continued supervision) the rationale for the zones, purposes and expectations.  Students immediate react with “Oh, that makes sense!” and use the zones appropriately.  Now our physical space reflects our academic learning objective that “students will assess their learning need – evaluate resources available – use the resources appropriately”. 

Sound proof glass to create the quiet study room works!  We chose to glass off the quietest section of the Information Commons.  This created a physical and mental transition from the chattier areas of the space.  Our surveys indicated 48% of the students still required a classic, quiet study space.  The happy surprise has been that students completely own this space.  No adult has yet to need to monitor the space… the students monitor and respect the purpose.  Personal ownership is key to our success. 

Students like to create their own spaces… and will move furniture around appropriately to create great spaces.  We put almost every piece of furniture on wheels.  As students live in the space, we all recognize what works and what doesn’t.  Students have great ideas on how to better create THEIR learning environment.  Having flexible furniture allows for the space to grow, meeting student needs.

Existing features are highlighted.  I can’t tell you how many times people ask me when we put in the skylights.  I have to answer “Ummmm 1986."  The windows and skylights have been in the space for over 30 years… yet prior physical layout, dark paint and walls obscured these features.  By opening the space and brightening the paint and carpet the existing features really pop.  As we enter the dark days of winter, the Information Commons is now the most popular space in the building in part because of its wonderful lighting.

So 2015 has been a great experience in terms of space… and the next step is really looking at the work flow.  Part of our Ignatian process is to reflect on experience.  We have experienced the Information Commons as a physical space for three months.  Now it is time to reflect on how we use the space, how work flow is impacted and how instruction can be modified.  In some ways, a new mess for new progress.  I am looking at Work Flow Analysis research and structures to help facilitate conversation and reflection.   I'll keep you all posted...

Oh - and recently JD and I presented at the Treasure Mountain Research Retreat at The Ohio State University. We talked a lot about allowing for student voice in design. If you are interested in seeing those slides just follow the hyperlink.

The Material and the Symbolic: Designing Libraries in 2014

During this arctic week in the Midwest, I am working on a keynote for the JSEA Librarians conference.   My husband lent a helping hand to the process by pointing me in the direction of communication theory of "discourse of space"… we’re a lively pair ya know.  This led to more topics, which eventually led me to the urban planning scholarship of socio-spatial transformation and the research of Ole Jensen in Denmark. 

Jensen argues any planning process (in my case redesigning a 1980's library) as a consideration of the “relationship between the material practices and the symbolic meaning that social agents attach to their spatial environments…”  For me, this means that the tension between material practices (the day to day doings of librarianship) and the symbolism we attach (the sacred cows of librarianship) effects how we arrange our physical environments.  The catch in bringing library services (particularly K-12 school media services) into the 21^st century can partially be attributed to how many of us still attach our own experiences to the school library – sitting and reading a book in a quiet, safe place. The library was a repository for books and other print (or at least tangibly physical) items where one went to sit quietly and absorb knowledge.

UC Riverside Library
http://newsroom.ucr.edu/1711

Diana Eidson recently published an article entitled “The Celsus Library at Ephesus: Spatial Rhetoric, Literacy and Hegemony in the Eastern Roman Empire.”  In the article, she looks at how the Celsus Library (probably one of the most famous images of a library out there) was not just a repository of material - it was a place where the walls told a story (allegorical carvings tell the stories of Greek and Roman convergence), people met to share experiences and hear stories, communal decision making took place.  It would have been a lively place.  In a population where only 10% were literate, the physical building spoke to patrons and passersby.  Sadly, the Dark Ages, a bit of plague and some circling of the wagons shifted the focus of libraries to silent repositories only for the elite.

2014 holds so many ways we can get back to the library as center of community where even the building can speak to passersby!

Libraries still have material practices in the 21^st century. Some look much like they have for centuries: books, magazines, maps, artwork and newspapers. Some are a little more recent: instruction on citation practices, research strategies and information retrieval. A quiet place of self-reflection in an over-stimulating school environment is needed… but do we adults let our own symbolism influence how the space functions for a young visitor?  Just because we had wood tables nestled in stacks of books, is that what our students need today? 

Face it, we need to let go of our symbolic meanings of what defines a library.  Embrace the innovations, which allow us to move beyond walls, continents and even time (have you seen the awesome collaboration between the Bodleian Libraries and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vatincana?).  Open spaces for story telling, collaborative assignments and communal discourse. 

Seattle Library Main Branch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Central_Library

And what the heck, let the walls or floors tell stories again.

Story Surfer at Aarhus Library, Denmark
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aakb/3005626860/

Libraries can be vibrant spaces of experience.  In 2014, reflect on where your attachments to symbolic meaning are hampering progress.  Reflect on material practices that really can be let go (there is no need to keep a year’s worth of paper magazines these days).  And let’s move forward…

Update 2/5/2014... Here's the slideshow from the presentation.  The title is what happens when my husband and I get a little silly during snowstorms - but it's how we roll...

Click image to link to SlideShare Upload

Works Cited:
Eidson, Diana. “The Celsus Library at Ephasus: Spatial Rhetoric, Literacy and Hegemony in the Eastern Roman Empire.” Advances in the History of Rhetoric (2013) Vol 16, Issue 2.

 Jensen, Ole. Discourse Analysis and Sociospatial Transformation Processes. School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Global Urban Research Unity. Electronc Working Paper  28. http://www.ncl.ac.uk/guru/assets/documents/ewp28.pdf

, Diana. “The Celsus Librarys: Spatial Rhetoric, Literacy and Hegemony in the Eas

Lessons Learned in 1:1 : We're Going to Need a Bigger Library

What's that you say?  A bigger library?  We thought all those electronic books and database thingys didn't take up as much room?  BTW, isn't print dead with the students and their electronic wizbangs?

A library is more than a collection of books... consider the Library of Alexandria circa 145 BCE...

 "...the library comprised a Peripatos walk, gardens, a room for shared dining, a reading room, meeting rooms and lecture halls." (from Wikipedia entry) 

Guess, what... scholars, whether they be 13 or 31 or 85, still need spaces to read, meet, discuss, collaborate and sit in quiet reflection.  The modern view of the library as Information Commons, or even better Learning Commons, requires space and investment.

Over at Confessions of a Jesuit School CIO, +JD Ferries-Rowe has been discussing the redesign of classroom space in a 1:1 BYOT learning environment.  Consider this the sister post - Redesign the Library.  Taking ideas from Susan McMullen (US Academic Libraries: Today's Learning Commons Model) and Dr. Paul Mihailidis (Media Literacy and the Learning Commons in the Digital Age) among others, design discussions revolve around the need for spaces to promote:

• Collaboration
• Reflection
• Research
• and yes, Reading

In our current space (picture to the right) we've tried some band-aid approaches.  But as you can see... we are nowhere near providing the spaces our students need.  In recent surveys, students responded they wanted both quiet and collaborative spaces.  Students reported enjoying the quieter atmosphere of the library as compared to the louder social spaces of the cafeteria or student commons.  Surprisingly to me, the highest ranked "favorite thing about the library" was the good ole study carrel.  The highest ranked "suggested changes or additions" was group tables.  Followed by "more space"...  

Hmmm... I can take a hint.  We need a bigger library!  And by bigger, I mean more space and more flexible use of said space.

So what does the vision look like?  The new library should be about more than simple information transfer. We need to look at creation, communication and consumption of all information - electronic, print, image, auditory, touch and kinesthetic. A space like Alexandria where scholars come together to engage knowledge in all formats - especially the human interaction kind.  

Items on my list (still in idea phase so no pictures) include:

• Reclaimed space in existing footprint (we have a rabbit warren of offices, storage and even a hallway to nowhere in the existing space that can be reclaimed for student learning).
• A welcome desk/reference desk at the main point of entry
• Flexible furniture including tables, ottomans, chairs, benches to promote collaboration
• Small conference style rooms for presentation design and practice, tutoring or collaboration requiring a little more noise (and therefore soundproofing) 
• Study carrels and single, soft seating 
• Computer lab - with sliding glass wall to create teaching space when needed.
• IT and Library staff located together in the space for full information services.
• Taking a page from retail space design - louder, brighter attractive space at the front of the library.  As the learner moves through the space the more reflective and quiet the space becomes (think Macy's... the flashy seasonal sale items up front and the soft, quiet bedding in the back).

So if you think 1:1 will end the need for your library... stop.  Chances are you're going to need more space.  The library will become the hub of collaboration and integration.  It will become a key to your ed tech initiative's success.  Be ready...