Information Commons and Learning Commons Site Visits
 

Site Visit:	Bridgewater State College,  Massachusetts -- Clement C. Maxwell Library
Contact:	Michael Somers, Director of the Libraries
Web Site:	http://www.bridgew.edu/Library/index.cfm
Organizational Structure:	Traditional Library Organizational Structure.  Not merged with Information Technology
Library Building	$7 million dollar renovation project -- Pfeufer Richardson Architects
Date of Visit:	February 12, 2007

Overview

Bridgewater State College is the largest of the Massachusetts State Colleges.  BSC was founded in 1840 and is the second oldest teacher education institution in the country. It has more than 9700 full and part-time undergraduate and graduate students, with an FTE of 6900 and 278 faculty members. The College does have a laptop initiative, requiring all students to own a laptop and the Library is a wireless environment.  They have 10 librarians including the library director and paraprofessionals play an integral role in providing library services.

BSC's renovation project will integrate facilities for its Learning Commons on all three library floors. Each floor of the library is approximately 40,000 sq. feet offering plenty of space for seating and collections. Although not part of the Library's operations, several other academic services exist within the library building including the School of Graduate Studies, faculty offices, and several academic classrooms.  Conveniently located on the ground floor is a Technology Help Desk, a Cafe, and the Academic Achievement Center.  The whole building is designed to be a useful and usable space for student learning.

Information Technology Help Desk and Cafe on Ground Floor (separate from Library operations)

This renovation project has made excellent use of color on both the walls and in the carpeting to help users navigate through the building.  For example, blue carpeting has been used to indicate traffic flow through the building (the "river") and red carpeting indicates service areas or work areas ("lily pads") with a more neutral tone being used for collections (the "land").  They have also used curved edges in their desk areas and other design elements to offer a more aesthetic flowing feel to an otherwise angular building.  Signage and large window areas let in plenty of natural light and serve as axis points for aligning library services.  The first floor of the building is designed to be the most social space, with quieter areas moving upward to the second and third floors.  Collections are no longer front and center, they have been relocated to the periphery with comfortable seating intermixed.

Flow into the first Floor Commons Area with Signage above

Description of Services and Facilities

There are three primary service desks within the Library Building: the Circulation & Reserves Desk (with an additional service area for Interlibrary Loan & Document Delivery), the Reference Desk, and the Educational Resource Center, each with clear signage and easy access for the patron.  The Circulation and Reference Desks are located across from one another near the front entrance to the Library.  The Educational Resource Center is on the second floor near the Education Materials.  

The Reference Desk is staffed by professional staff librarians and operates as a traditional reference service point.  Part-time librarians are utilized in the evening and for additional instruction sessions during the evening hours. Both desks are counter height with an additional lower ADA height built in. Adjacent to the reference desk is an island of four standing height workstations for quick online searching. Behind the service desks is additional space for staff working in these areas.  Reference Librarians have separate windowed offices located directly behind the reference desk to offer them a clear visual of reference desk activity and to provide space for research consultations as needed.  Circulation Services and Interlibrary Loan are co-located for easy access for both staff and patrons.  An open hallway behind the circulation service desk separates the work spaces making them joined yet still autonomous.

Circulation Desk	Reference Desk

There are clover-leaf Computer Clusters scattered throughout the first and second floors of the Library.  Each computer has both library web-based resources and productivity software.  Each cluster is designed around a support column and houses 4 computer workstations.  Each workstation provides ample room for students to spread out their materials or to work with one or two partners. One cluster on the first floor has been equipped with scanners for students working on multi-media projects.   Even with the laptop initiative, these workstations are very heavily used throughout the day. Currently they have about 44 workstations in the building, with a goal of doubling that amount in the future.  Printing is available from all computer workstations with either a student login or a copy card. The Print/Copy Station is located in the Commons area on the first floor.

Print/Copy Area	A First Floor Computer Cluster with Scanners

A Second Floor Computer Cluster looking down from Third Floor

In addition to the Computer Workstation Clusters, students are offered other technology work area options throughout the building.  There are counter height Plug and Play Workstations (also with built-in lower height ADA stations) that students can use to plug in their laptops.  The tables throughout the first and second floors are also conveniently located near electrical outlets for student laptops with wireless access.  The chairs and tables have been ergonomically designed with a saddle cut and long straight backs for extended seating times as well as a sloped table edges for support in using laptop keyboards. Comfortable chairs of three different styles for reading and study are provided throughout the building.

The first floor provides the most centralized Commons area, but even in this area there is a really nice mix of comfortable seating, tables, technology, and collections.

Seating	Tables
Intermixing of  Technology, Seating, and Collections	Plug and Play Laptop Workstation Counters

There are three Group Study Rooms available. The second floor group study rooms have laptop access and seating for four or more.  The group study room on the first floor is larger and offers extended media and technology for larger groups.  A shared projection monitor for the computer workstation is an excellent feature that invites collaborative work.  There is also a video/dvd player and a whiteboard available.  This room seats eight people.

First Floor Group Study	One of Two Group Study Rooms on the Second Floor

A newly designed Library Instruction Room is also available for student use when not being used for library instruction. There are 12 workstations and room for 24 students and an instructor's workstation.

Library Instruction Classroom

There are two meeting rooms on the first floor.  The larger of the two, contains seating for 75-100 people, has integrated AV capabilities with a projector that is hidden into a beautiful wooden dropped ceiling.  A sky wall at the front of the room will lift up to open a larger meeting room area.

The second meeting room is designed as a conference room.  It has wooden moveable tables and upholstered chairs on wheels, providing a great space for workshops and campus meetings.

Large Meeting Room	Smaller Conference room

A large seating area, art wall, and reception area on the second floor provide a comfortable and quiet retreat for scholarship and reflection.  This area also provides a cultural area for art exhibit receptions.

Second Floor Area for Art and Receptions

Governance and Strategic Fit

The library operates as an autonomous unit.  It is not merged with Information Technology or any other campus department.  The library sets forth its own mission and goals as active partners in the teaching/learning process.  Strategically, the library director outlined a vision and plan for the learning commons and worked toward implementation with the library staff and the campus community, including the academic deans, the Provost, and the CIO.

Collaboration and Partnerships

The library sees its role as partners in the learning process.  Because of the crossover in user needs and services, the Library Director regularly meets with the CIO to address mutual concerns.  They work collaboratively and understand they need to benefit from each other's expertise.  Although, information technology and the library represent different cultures, there is mutual respect for each culture.

Staffing and Training

As they have moved into the Learning Commons Model, staff have been offered various training opportunities to learn new productivity software now available on the library's computer workstations.  Circulation and reference staff are cross-trained so that they can easily cover for one another in their adjacent work areas.  One reference librarian also serves as the circulation and interlibrary loan supervisor.  In preparing staff for this new model, the director spearheaded a number of conversations to calm fears and focus on the library's role as an academic support unit.  The director encouraged librarians to learn more about how others are meeting new user needs and think of ways they may start to move in new directions.  Job descriptions have not changed dramatically, but they are assimilating the philosophy and the services/spaces of the Learning Commons into their daily workflow.

The renovation project has helped staff to transition to and become comfortable with new work spaces.

Impact on Collections

Though some weeding has occurred, there is still more that needs to be done to maintain a current and viable collection. The director is less concerned with volume count than he is with how well the collection supports the current needs of the curriculum.  BSC has the luxury of space so weeding does not need to be the top priority that it may be at other institutions where space is more limited.

Virtual Environment

As the renovation proceeds on the third floor, BSC has plans for a new digitalization lab and hiring a digital projects librarian to  digitizing slides and other library collections. 

Online help guides are found via the Library's web site at http://www.bridgew.edu/Library/libguide.cfm

Assessment

Because their Learning commons is still relatively new, no formal methods of assessment have been implemented yet.  They have been keeping track of gate counts, anecdotal assessment, and are currently preparing to take the LibQual survey.

Lessons Learned

Before beginning to shift to a Learning Commons model, you first need to build staff enthusiasm for the project.  You need to sell ideas to library staff and the campus community. 

Goal setting and conversations about philosophical changes makes people less afraid.  You need to answer people's questions honestly and assure them you are not building something that cannot be changed.  Along the way, monitor and assess where you are and how it is working.

Observations Informing Best Practices

Begin by building consensus for the project. 

Use color and design to help users navigate through spaces.  Think about your users and their needs.

Intermix collections, technology, and spaces for study and collaboration.

Replacement of individual carrels with tables opens up the space.

Start to build the basic facilities of the Learning Commons and distribute those features throughout the building. 

Productivity software on library workstations makes good sense for users and enables them to work within the library to create an integrated product.

The Learning Commons will continue to evolve over time.