| The Learning Commons
Model: Determining Best Practices for Design, Implementation, and Service |
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Information Commons and Learning Commons Site Visits
Overview Located in the White Mountains in New Hampshire Plymouth State University is a public university which is well-known for its Masters of Education program and strong programs in business, meteorology, athletic training, and graphic arts. In total, they offer 42 undergraduate degree programs and approximately 25 graduate degree programs to an undergraduate population of 4,000 and a graduate population of 2,500. They have seven library faculty, ten full-time library staff members and four information technology staff members that are co-located in the library. The Lamson Library underwent a major renovation in 1997 and was repurposed in 2006 to accommodate the Learning Commons. For both projects, they used the architectural firm of Sheerr McCrystal Palson Architecture, Inc. to keep uniformity in design elements throughout the building. The library has three main levels -- the lower level houses the cafe, a large computer lab, the Writing Center, Academic Support Services, a library computer classroom, microforms, and the Curriculum Materials Center. The main level is a hub of activity with the Information Desk at the center of it, a Multimedia Presentation Center, Reference Services, several librarian and instructional technologist offices, the audio-visual department, the music and video/dvd collections, periodicals and reading areas. The upper level is home to library administrative offices, technical services, group study rooms, and a large portion of the circulating collection. Since opening their Learning Commons, login statistics have increased 70% and the average door count is up 43%. Description of Services and Facilities Upon entrance to the main level of the Library, the user first encounters the Information Desk. This desk was formerly the Library's Circulation Desk. Today, this desk services the user in a variety of ways. In addition to handling circulation and reserves, it also serves as the technology support desk and as the central desk for triaging user information queries and making referrals when necessary. At this desk, students receive desktop support for their computers, help with the MyPlymouth portal, their email accounts, and help with WebCT. There is also a flat screen television centered on the wall behind the desk for announcements and other information. In designing their Information Desk, library staff approached it from a Customer Service point of view. They acknowledge that students are consumers who are actively engaged with technology that has to work all the time. The Information Desk serves as the front end user support service for the entire Library. Placed right at the library's entrance, it is the first place the user goes for assistance. It also maintains a sight line with the other service points on the main level -- including the Reference Desk and the Multimedia Presentation Center. The Information Desk has been designed in three semi-circular rings. The outer ring is for customer service - it has both a high and a low level counter -- using the higher counter for check-out/checkin and the lower height counter for working with users with technology support issues. The next ring provides work spaces for information desk consultants and houses the print reserve collection. The third inner ring serves as the technology support call center and network operation center. Offices for the Learning Commons and Help Desk Manager and the Shift Supervisor are also in this inner ring. All three rings maintain sight view with one another through the use of glass walls. The Information Desk has 3 full-time staff and 30 student workers. All student workers are cross-trained in both circulation and technology support functions. They have customer service identification tags and wear headsets so they can roam throughout the Commons to troubleshoot.
Behind the Information Desk is the Multimedia
Presentation Center. Its placement adjacent to the Information Desk is
important because it provides a sight line view from the staff office that
services that center and places it within the context of the Information Desk
Services area. The Media Presentation Center's six Macintosh
computers serve as DVD/video editing workstations and have full Macromedia and
Adobe software suites on them. They can be used to produce a variety of
digital content, including scanning and image editing. Color laser
printers and scanner are available. Just outside of the MPC there are five
high end imaging Windows workstations that are heavily used for scanning and editing images,
creating web pages and producing graphic animations. Notice the two
windows that allow staff to view operations in the MPC from their office space
and additional windows on the other side allow sight view between the central
Macintosh based MPC area and the Windows workstation area. This area is
staffed by a student worker from noon to close.
Surrounding the Information Desk, the user finds comfortable seating, new books, periodicals and plenty of table space equipped with laptop ports.
Within sight view, the Reference Desk and stacks are off to the right of the Information Desk. The sight line is created by the use of half level reference stacks. This makes it easy to refer users needing research help from the Information Desk to the Reference Desk. Staff and student workers walk the user, rather than point, to the Reference Desk to ensure quality customer service. The Reference Desk is surrounded by several computer areas. A couple of circular pods are on one side and directly in front of the desk are computers designated for online catalog look-up. Many other computers are arranged throughout this area with productivity software as well as internet capabilities. The Reference Desk is staffed by professional librarians during all shifts. It has a high counter height for walk-up reference help and smaller desk areas in back. The smaller desk areas, equipped with computers, are most frequently used for research consultations. In total there are 100 computer workstations throughout the library, many are located in the reference area and in the computer lab and classroom on the lower level. An additional 14 computers are available for public access without Plymouth State login, 10 of these public access machines are in reference, 2 are in the cafe and 1 each are on the upper and lower levels. Lamson Library also loans out 10 laptops from its information desk. They circulate for two hours (the average battery life) and one renewal is allowed.
On the main floor, users will find the music and video/dvd collections, and the Audio Visual Department. The AV department supports 120 smart classrooms across the campus and also provides support for campus and community events. Also located on the main level is a multipurpose classroom and the Bibliographic Instruction classroom used for library instruction, distance learning, technology training, and video conferencing. It is kept opened during finals week when it is not being used for instructional purposes. The Archives, and eight group study rooms equipped with computers and white boards are located on the upper level – a designated quiet space. A lovely Seminar Room for small group meetings/gatherings is also available on the second floor.
The lower level of Lamson Library is also a hub of activity. In addition to the Cafe, which one may enter from either the street side or from within the library, they have a 30 workstation Computer Lab, additional computer workstations, a Curriculum Materials Center, a General Classroom, a Writing Center, and the Academic Support Service Center.
The Library and Information Technology Services Departments are not merged, however, the Learning Commons is a joint collaboration of both the Library and ITS. The Learning Commons & ITS Help Desk Manager reports to both the Library Directory and the CIO. She indicates that this has not been a problem and allows her to advocate for both the Library and ITS. The Library Director reports to the VP of Academic Affairs and Provost and the CIO reports to the VP of Finance. The Learning Commons and Help Desk Manager oversees Library Access Services, the ITS Help Desk, and the Multimedia Presentation Center. The Learning Commons began about 3.5 years ago when the former Library Director pulled together a group of people from ITS and the Library to talk about the concept and see how it could work at Plymouth State. When the Library Director died tragically in a car accident the President and Provost decided to move forward with the project. The CIO and the Coordinator of Library Technology & Access Services did a feasibility study and a presentation in support of this new model. After the initial study, the President and Provost pulled both staffs together and decided that they would undertake the Learning Commons Model. A series of meetings produced their Project Charter for Integration of Help Desk, Multimedia & Desktop Support With the Library. This Charter outlined the project's goals and objectives, identified the major stakeholders, and set forth a plan of action. The Planning Team which consisted of representatives from both ITS and Library staff, one student, and 2 faculty members met weekly for over a year to make the project a reality. Collaboration and Partnerships To make the Learning Commons work, there is a strong partnership between the Library and ITS. As mentioned above, the Learning Commons and Help Desk Manager has dual reporting responsibilities. Several staff from ITS co-habitat in the library building. Though a separate unit, a strong partnership exists with Academic Support Services. These services used to be housed in the Administration Building but were brought over to the library because of their fit with the Learning Commons model and the need for space. This partnership has been very successful and students have greatly benefited from having it in the Library. At this time the Writing Center is separate from Academic Support but is housed adjacent to it. All of the units working in the library pull together to make the Learning Commons Model work for the students. Staffing and Training There are 30 student workers working at the Information Desk. They are extensively cross-trained in customer service. Before they can become an Information Desk Consultant they must be an Information Desk Trainee and understand the 6 Fundamentals of Customer Service:
Students workers come back a week prior to the beginning of the fall semester for training. Impact on Collections They have not weeded their reference collection but they did a weeding of the whole collection a few years ago. Reference & Instruction Services Reference Services are traditional. Professional librarians staff the reference desk during all shifts. Instruction is extensive. They offer subject specific classes and have a strong library component in the university's First Year Seminar program. Each fall they teach 48 FYS sections -- usually one librarian takes 6- 8 sections and teaches 1-2 classes for each section. Each FYS section has its own research question which allows the librarian to tailor instruction about that issue. Virtual Reference They offer chat reference services using meebo. Intellectual/Cultural Center The Lamson Library sponsors many faculty, student and community exhibits. They also offer their spaces to the community for events. They are highly used by the community for meetings and events and lend AV support to those events as well. Assessment To date, Lamson Library has collected traditional library data and statistics for their assessment reports. They have completed surveys and conducted focus groups. Elaine Allard is currently working on a sabbatical project that hopes to discover ways to access the impact a Learning Commons has on student learning. Lessons Learned
Observations Informing Best Practices
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