| The Learning Commons
Model: Determining Best Practices for Design, Implementation, and Service |
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Information Commons and Learning Commons Site Visits
Overview SUNY Cortland is one of the 13 comprehensive colleges that comprise the State University of New York Higher Education System. They have an undergraduate population of 7,000 students, offering 59 undergraduate majors. Additionally they serve 33 masters programs and 5 certificates of advanced study. The Library has a total staff of 40 with 10 librarians. The Learning Commons at Cortland opened in Spring 2006. In designing their Learning Commons, Cortland wanted to combine all Academic Support Services in one place with a goal of providing more holistic services to their students. In order to garner support for their project they distributed a brief Key Concepts paper throughout campus that not only defined the Information Commons and its strong focus on users and service, but clearly identified 3 key concepts for its mission, patterns of service, and implementation. Although most of their learning support services are co-located in one area, they are working toward integrating the Learning Commons throughout their library building. For instance, the Faculty Development Center and the Media Viewing area are separate from the LC area and located on the third floor. Description of Services and Facilities The Learning Commons at Cortland is located to one's right upon entering the Library. Signage over the door leading into this area clearly identifies the space as the "Learning Commons." The LC combines most of Cortland's Academic Support Units in one area and is meant to serve as a collaborative and workable space for faculty and students. The first support desk one sees in the Learning Commons Area is the Reference Desk. Behind the Reference desk are the offices for Advisement and Transition, to the right of the reference desk are additional Academic Support Services -- the Writing Center, the Technology Training Center, and the Office of Service Learning.
The Learning Commons offers its users a variety
of seating options for small group discussion and individual study. There are collaborative
and individual
computer workstation areas as well as computers designed for Quick Look-up and
email. Throughout this space they use flexible furniture
and movable partitions and fabric screens to denote work areas and provide
privacy. The flexible comfortable chairs used throughout these spaces are
very popular with students. Software on the computers varies depending on
the function of the computer area or lab.
The recently added Cafe is extremely popular with students and has a variety of tables surrounding it for students to socialize. A wall separates it from the computer workstation area so that students working on computers in that area are not disturbed by the noise from the cafe.
In the Teaching Materials Center they house their Curriculum Materials supporting the Education Program. This area of the library also contains two Multimedia Studios with high-end PCs and MAC computers and scanners. Laptops and digital cameras are available for loan at the Circulation Desk.
On the second floor of the library they have room for comfortable seating, additional computer workstations - primarily for information seeking, collections, and a library classroom. The reference desk used to be on this floor before moving into the Learning Commons. On this floor, students will also find rooms for group study.
The third floor of the library is home to a large Media Services room that contains shelving for the Video/DVD collection, a viewing area, and its own circulation service point.
Although the Library and Information Resources Departments are not merged they do have the same reporting structure. They both report to the Associate Provost. The Learning Commons was the result of convergence of Library and Provost goals. The Provost wanted to bring Academic Support Services together in one physical place and the Library Director wanted to open a Learning Commons in the library, together they seized the opportunity. Collaboration and Partnerships Several Academic Support services work together in their Learning Commons -- Advisement & Transition, the Writing Center, Service Learning, and the Faculty Development Center. All units have different organizational structures and different reporting channels. In order to establish guidelines and operating policies and to discuss problems and needs they hold shared meetings with all LC partners. The Learning Commons "team" is composed of 4 librarians and a faculty trainer from the Information Resources department. Staffing and Training They decided not to create a separate technology support desk because they felt that with proper training, most technology questions could be handled by the reference desk. Cross-training is provided for base-line technology functions for student supervisors at the Reference, Circulation, and Periodicals/Media Desks. Next year they will be putting their training modules on WebCT. Impact on Collections To make room for the Learning Commons, they moved the A-B LC call number areas to the fourth floor of the building. In fact, most collections have been shifted to make room as a result of moving the A-B collections to the fourth floor. They moved the reference service point to the Learning Commons along with a small selection of frequently used print reference sources. In order to make room on additional floors, they have dispersed their government documents and no longer serve as a federal government repository. Bound periodicals are also slowly being weeded. Reference & Instruction Services Reference has been the library department most affected by the establishment of the Learning Commons. The reference desk was totally removed from the 2nd floor and a new reference home was found at the center of the Commons area. Near this desk, they have only a small collection of their printed reference collection. All 10 librarians at Cortland work at the reference desk. Information and computer literacy at SUNY Cortland has been melded for more than a decade. One of the unusual features about Memorial Library is that the credit-bearing Computer Applications Program (CAP) is taught by librarians. These three librarians, in addition to the ten serving more traditional functions, teach, advise and develop curriculum. CAP 100, the introductory course, is required by many programs and is taken by a large number of students each year. CAP has a minor and there are currently more than 100 CAP minors. CAP also offers "Computers in Society," and a database course taught by librarians not already teaching in the CAP program. The Student Computer and Information Literacy workshops emerged from a recognized need to provide instruction beyond the traditional library instruction. Faculty may request technology related instruction for their students and the Coordinator of Instruction will identify either a librarian or a technologist to teach the class. Assessment Since the Learning Commons is so new, they have not yet established formal assessment tools and criteria. Lessons Learned
Observations Informing Best Practices
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