Georgias Five Little Acres: The Student Learning Center at the University of Georgia

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Georgias Five Little Acres The Student
Learning Center at the University of Georgia

• William Gray Potter
• University Librarian
• CNI April 2004

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Continuing Role of Physical Library

• With emphasis on electronic, what is role of the
  physical library
• Rash of articles on decline of the use of the
  library a few years ago
• Article in the Chronicle The Deserted Library
  
• Journalism, not research
• Few libraries actually saw this decline
• Coincident with electronic presence, libraries
  have been rethinking physical spaces

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Public spaces changing

• Libraries have been trying new models, moving
  away from traditional reading rooms to providing
• Access to computers
• Connectivity
• Group study rooms
• Coffee houses
• information literacy classrooms
• Liberal policies on food and drink
• Digital media labs
• Joint staffing with the computer center

4
Barnes and Noble Syndrome

• Some see this as libraries reacting to
  competition
• Mega bookstores with their soft seats and coffee
  houses
• Internet cafes
• Even some aversion to calling these spaces
  Libraries
• Information Commons very popular
• Libraries reacting to changing needs, patterns of
  use
• In any academic library, majority of readers are
  not using print collection

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UGA Student Learning Center

• Libraries offer two main types of space
  collection storage and reader seating both are
  changing
• Our focus is on the space for readers
• I will describe the Student Learning Center
• Then conclude by considering what a facility like
  this means for the future of instruction and
  scholarship
• Some time for your reactions and observations

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University of Georgia Libraries

• 3.9M Volumes
• 20M budget
• 75 professionals, 200 classified
• 31st in ARL Membership Index (out of 112)
• 350,000 asf
• Main Library, Science Library, Repository
• (Law Library separate)

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Background

• Library space at UGA sorely needed
• Cited by SACS in 1980, 1990
• Plan in 1990
• new library building on south campus
• 250,000 assignable square feet
• Science, Education, Fine Arts
• Starts at 60M, 80M in 1996
• Repository built to provide temporary space

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1996 Change in Priorities

• President sets new classrooms as top priority
  New Classroom Building
• My concern -- library needs seats --
• fewer seats in 1996 than in 1973
• President adds space for study in classroom
  building proposal
• Simple Program goal of 2,850 seats to meet
  standard
• 2,850 x 25 73,000 ASF

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Big Project Becomes 2 Smaller

• 80M Library building dropped
• Instead, 2 smaller library projects
• Library component of Student Learning Center
• 1/2 of 43M
• Special Collections Libraries Building
• 36M (1/3 private funds)

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Student Learning Center

• Classrooms and Electronic Teaching Library
• Aimed at Undergraduates
• Opportunity to integrate instruction and library
• Provost Library is just one big classroom

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Electronic Teaching Library

• President An undergraduate library without
  books
• Today, too costly to build duplicate college
  level book collection
• An entry level library
• Emphasis on direct support of instruction
• Unusual in large research libraries
• Research drawn from British learning libraries
  and from community colleges

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Chronology

• 1996 -- President puts on campus list
• 1997 -- Regents add it to their capital list
• 1998 -- Governor secures planning funds (1.7M)
• Cooper-Carry selected as architect
• 1999 -- Governor requests full funding (43M)
• 2000 Broke ground September 1
• 2003 Opens August 2003

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Planning Process

• Executive Committee begins planning Summer 1998
  with Architect
• Use of library space to complement classrooms
  not separate from
• Collaboration among library, computer center,
  instructional development and campus architect
  very important
• Wide consultation with faculty students

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UGA S T U D E N T L E A R N I N
G C E N T E R
A S S E S S M E N T J U S I F I C A T I O N
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PROJECT SCHEDULE
UGA S T U D E N T L E A R N I N
G C E N T E R
C O N C E P T U A L D E S I G N
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PROJECT SCHEDULE
UGA S T U D E N T L E A R N I N
G C E N T E R
D E S I G N D E V E L O P ME N T
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PROJECT SCHEDULE
UGA S T U D E N T L E A R N I N
G C E N T E R
D E S I G N D E V E L O P ME N T
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PROJECT SCHEDULE
UGA S T U D E N T L E A R N I N
G C E N T E R
D E S I G N D E V E L O P ME N T
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PROJECT SCHEDULE
UGA S T U D E N T L E A R N I N
G C E N T E R
D E S I G N D E V E L O P ME N T
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PROJECT SCHEDULE
UGA S T U D E N T L E A R N I N
G C E N T E R
D E S I G N D E V E L O P ME N T
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PROJECT SCHEDULE
UGA S T U D E N T L E A R N I N
G C E N T E R
C O N S T R U C T I O N D O C U M E N T S
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Classroom Component

• 26 in all
• range in size from 24 seats to 280 seats
• mostly 40 to 80 seats
• total classroom seating about 2,200
• Faculty support areas

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Electronic Teaching Library

• 2,240 seats
• 500 computer workstations 2,000 network drops
• Ubiquitous wireless network
• 96 group study rooms 6 to 10 seats

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Electronic Teaching Library

• 2,240 seats
• 500 computer workstations 2,000 network drops
• Ubiquitous wireless network
• 96 group study rooms 6 to 10 seats
• Information Literacy Classrooms BI Classroom

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Electronic Teaching Library

• 2,240 seats
• 500 computer workstations 2,000 network drops
• Ubiquitous wireless network
• 96 group study rooms 6 to 10 seats
• Information Literacy Classrooms BI Classroom
• Traditional reading room (100 seats)

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Electronic Teaching Library

• 2,240 seats
• 500 computer workstations 2,000 network drops
• Ubiquitous wireless network
• 96 group study rooms 6 to 10 seats
• Information Literacy Classrooms BI Classroom
• Traditional reading room (100 seats)
• Single seat carrels - all wired

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Electronic Teaching Library

• 2,240 seats
• 500 computer workstations 2,000 network drops
• Ubiquitous wireless network
• 96 group study rooms 6 to 10 seats
• Information Literacy Classrooms BI Classroom
• Traditional reading room (100 seats)
• Single seat carrels - all wired
• Group carrels - 2 seats

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Electronic Teaching Library

• 2,240 seats
• 500 computer workstations 2,000 network drops
• Ubiquitous wireless network
• 96 group study rooms 6 to 10 seats
• Information Literacy Classrooms BI Classroom
• Traditional reading room (100 seats)
• Single seat carrels - all wired
• Group carrels - 2 seats
• Study tables

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Electronic Teaching Library

• 2,240 seats
• 500 computer workstations 2,000 network drops
• Ubiquitous wireless network
• 96 group study rooms 6 to 10 seats
• Information Literacy Classrooms BI Classroom
• Traditional reading room (100 seats)
• Single seat carrels - all wired
• Group carrels - 2 seats
• Study tables
• Soft seating

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Electronic Teaching Library

• 2,240 seats
• 500 computer workstations 2,000 network drops
• Ubiquitous wireless network
• 96 group study rooms 6 to 10 seats
• Information Literacy Classrooms BI Classroom
• Traditional reading room (100 seats)
• Single seat carrels - all wired
• Group carrels - 2 seats
• Study tables
• Soft seating
• Coffee house

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Student Learning Center

• 236,000 square feet gross
• 43,000,000
• Opened August 2003
• Combines classrooms and electronically supported
  library
• President Most significant building in 200
  years
• New academic center of campus

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Impact of Building

• Our Assumptions
• Use will be heavy -- test by observation, people
  counters (10,000 entries on April 13)
• Students want to study in in groups -- will test
  by observation (Group Study Rooms in high demand)
• Greater opportunities for informal interaction
  btw faculty and students?? Difficult to test
  anecdotal, surveys
• Use of main library will not decrease use by
  students who now study elsewhere (use is down but
  may be due to fire)

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Impact of Building (continued)

• Students use will focus on study, instructional
  support, short reference still use main
  science for in-depth research (Reference activity
  at Main seems to confirm)
• Use will be heavily undergraduate (Survey
  underway)
• Increasing reliance upon electronic publications
  will make the SLC more valuable, more autonomous
  as time goes by

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Unknowns

• Do we have proper mix of seating?
• Will students need public access computers in
  future or will they carry their own?
• Do we need digital media lab - scanners, high
  end graphic computers?
• Will the nature of reference questions change?
• How will library and computer staff work together
  different cultures? (This has worked very
  well.)

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Importance of Building

• While larger than most, the Student Learning
  Center reflects important trends in academic
  library design
• Integration of instruction and study
• Greater emphasis on access and use, lesser
  emphasis on collection
• Ultimate result remains learning

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On the Horizon Special Collections Libraries
Building
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Discussion?