THE NEW ACADEMIC LIBRARY

OVERVIEW

Demaine Partnership has been involved in the design and renovation of academic libraries over an extended period.  Recent work has provided us with a perspective of the changing role of the academic library in the life of the university campus.

BACKGROUND: THE CHANGING ROLE OF THE LIBRARY

Twenty years ago libraries were, in physical planning, primarily repositories of media.  Student study spaces were basically wedged in among bookstacks and media storage.  Access to media was via fledgling computer catalogues, card catalogues and microfische.  Retrieving information was a task requiring perseverance and a degree of skill.

At the same time, the methods of delivering education were comparatively narrow.  There were no fewer great teachers than today, but the means available to them tested their creativity.  The typical format of lecture and tutorial, face to face contact hours, combined with directed and self directed research, allowed student to explore the fundamental disciplines of their area of study, but with a fairly specific learning process.

The emergence of the internet changed the dynamics of information retrieval, though the fundamental knowledge and methods of instruction did not alter greatly.  Gradually, access to new delivery systems and a new generation of academics comfortable with use of multimedia and alternative delivery systems is changing the way in which education is provided.

Student expectations of communication methods has also changed.  Research is typically undertaken exclusively on line, and universities have responded quickly to make research journals and papers available in electronic format.  Similarly, lectures and tutorial notes are also available in electronic form.  The student is now not bound to the physical space of the library, being able to access much of that which is required for research in any setting, whether at home or wirelessly in a variety of locations.

The lecture timetable is also gradually becoming less rigid, with students able to access lecture material at will, and to ‘time slip’ learning tasks.

THE PARADOX: THE INCREASING POPULARITY OF THE LIBRARY

The commonplace assumption stemming from these changes was that the library, and maybe even the large lecture theatre, would die.  Students can work and study anywhere, why would they need an anachronistic setting like a library?  Why would it be necessary to attend a lecture when the presentation was available on line?  Why wouldn’t a large tutorial room be a better setting for viewing a lecture and even being able to pause it for group discussion and interaction, merging the lecture and tutorial learning modes?

The answer in regard to libraries lies in the other strand of the internet revolution: increased access to communications technology.  From mobile phones, SMS, email and web based communications, student have a range of options for communication and sharing of ideas.  Furthermore, the new technologies are surprisingly social: you can gather around a computer and browse and share information in a way that is not possible with books.  Increasing emphasis on group work in contemporary learning models supports and responds to this.  So students are brought together to work collegiately by the technology that some thought might lead to isolation.  Recent developments now allow for relatively simple and inexpensive sharing of ideas through wirelessly linked laptops in a small team environment.  This requires convenient spaces for group work in a technologically supportive environment.  In our recent projects, the most appropriate setting for these kinds of spaces has been the library.  On most campuses, it is centrally located, secure, supervised over extended operating hours, and has expert support staff.

Reducing requirements for bookstacks has allowed us to replan areas with a range of study spaces, from casual lounges with coffee tables and internet access for discursive interaction, group tables for small teams, sometimes with a common monitor allowing group viewing of on line and presentation material, to individual workstations, with or without provided computer technologies.

Like the universities, we don’t know exactly what ratio of different types of workspace to provide.  What we have found, however, is that making libraries into an environment receptive to student individual and group study has, in one case, increased library patronage by over 40%.  It’s also important to emphasize the additional benefits of study in the library context: student have access to world class information professionals to help with research and research skills, further backed by technical staff to assist with computer and presentation systems.  It’s important to differentiate between this kind of supported study and research area, and unstaffed computer lab space that can be provided at a faculty level.

STUDY SPACES SUPPORTING FACULTY: A ROLE DISTINCT FROM LIBRARY STUDY AREAS?

Part of the answer to the question about the function of lecture theatres in the future, is also an answer to the difference between study spaces in faculties, and study spaces in libraries.  Occasionally these are seen as an ‘either-or’ provision- more study spaces in faculty areas should reduce the need for study space in libraries.  However on reflection it can be seen that these spaces are complementary, each serving a distinct role.

The cultural changes fostered by new pedagogical approaches have, in some case, led to a rethinking of the relationship between staff and students.  The cliché that students are not just ‘empty vessels to be filled with knowledge’ implies a more interactive process of learning, which might lead to a more dynamic mix of mini-lectures, interrupted with group discussions and experiments.  This is being attempted at many universities world wide, with provision of more flexible styles of teaching space, different relationships between spaces, and a structure that places academic offices more in the thick of student activities.  Study spaces supporting these new learning modes create valuable spaces for informal interaction between students and staff, spaces that can be used for impromptu small group tutorials, and forums for broader interaction between students within the umbrella of the faculty.  So it is possible to see a quite distinct style of study space tailored to support the faculty learning program, that complements the study spaces of a library environment.

It is also interesting to see how the library as a study forum can evolve into a kind of activities hub.  In one case, we explored linking a centrally located library closely to a rejuvenated Student Services area: a seamless flow of student centred space that became a one stop shop for support from the pastoral to the academic.  Universities that are thinking this way recognize that in an internationally competitive marketplace for education services, this kind of attention to integration of service delivery makes a difference in attracting enrolments.

DESIGN RESPONSES

We looked at early attempts to create study areas or ‘information commons’, often characterized by a quite rigid workstation type design which was like a cross between a office work area and the traditional library carrel.  More space for computers and layout areas, but a repetitive grid of one or two person study nodes divided by low partitions.

We thought to tackle this problem in a couple of ways, first to mix up the work area types to blend some individual station clusters with group worktables, encouraging students to move between work modes.  Work in a group, then break out to individual research tasks.  Work in a quiet group, then move to a acoustically separated group room for more active discussion and use of shared media.

As a second layer, we thought to break down the elements of the study space into constituent parts: a jelly bean shaped worksurface, which can be clustered in a wide range of formations.  Support this with modular wiring, demountable screens, lighting systems that could be unclipped and moved around, and simple ergonomic furniture.  Add small side tables on castors that could be pulled up to allow the worksurface to be extended.  Place lounge areas nearby to allow break out and relaxation: essential to productive study.

We don’t know exactly how the practices of the new university will play out.  We can only provide what works now, continue to review and monitor, and provide systems that hopefully can be adapted, moved and changed to meet new study and work configurations.