The North Wing

There are lots of exciting things happening in the library these days.   Students are spending a good deal of time in the library, flocking in to study together, use the services, eat at the cafe and for quiet study.  We got new furniture in the Late Night Reading Room and it took the staff a couple of days to actually see what it looked like because students and faculty were so busy sitting, studying, eating, and talking!

The Learning Commons is in full swing with full research services avalable as well collaboration with Service Learning and Advisement and Transition as well as providing assistance with technology.  As a matter of fact, the opinion article in EQ:  Educause Quarterly talks about the second generation of the Commons initiatives as Commons 2.0.  We continue to change in response to the needs of students and faculty and to fulfill our vision “to be where the questions are.”

Two Multimedia Studio Rooms are now in full operation.  In the past few weeks, the usage has been so heavy that there are lines waiting for the machines to become available.  The larger room has a new smart board for students to practice their presentations.

“Old technology” of books and print journals is alive and well at Memorial Library.  We are continuing our weeding project of multiple copies.  The library has a massive number of second, third, fourth and more copies of items.  To make it easier to find books, we are moving the unnecessary duplication of materials.  We then send them to Better World Books who sends our unneeded items to libraries who do need them.  The librarians are also beginning to study our print journal offerings to ensure that they still meet the needs of students and faculty in relationship to the electronic offerings.

During the last several monthes, the media (mainly DVDs and videos) was moved to the third floor Periodicals area, creating a Periodicals/Media service area.  This is now a full service circulation and reserve area with assistance available all the hours the library is open.  Use of that area has increased dramatically.  The library is also investigating streaming services–rather than buying the materials, to use a service that streams the video through the network.

As part of the Commons effort, the library has been training our student workers to answer technology questions accurately and quickly.  This program is in WebCT and is required for all library student workers.  Plans are being developed to do some training beyond basic technology.

The library has a technology internship program, with students from New Media and Professional Writing.  The students are available in the evenings to answer technology questions, assist in the Multimedia Studio Rooms and support the campus’ webcasting efforts.   This fall 2007 semester has been the pilot and we are currently looking at the program’s strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities.  One of the things we plan to do is take some of the most frequently asked questions and add additional training to the library’s student workers program.