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Dr. John Yoder, Vice President of Academic Affairs
“Learning Center would not only offer the range of services that might be found in more traditional libraries and "learning centers" but integrate the two into an even broader concept in which the physical library becomes a kind of "learning commons: for the University.  This is a vision for a place toward which students (and faculty) would naturally gravitate and which would offer resources for a wide variety of learning activities including small group work and individual research, providing access to paper, electronic and people resources for learning in all its varied dimensions”.

Max M. Burson, Professor, Interim Library Director, M.A.L.S., M.S. Ed.

"This building would create a space to provide services to support students, faculty, and staff.  These services could include computing lab and services; instructional technology, media production, and media/AV services; library reference, circulation, and library instruction services; tutoring, writing, and math labs; and a bookstore.  Students could have a place to relax and enjoy some food and drink.   In other words, our Friends University Learning Commons would use a collaborative approach to bring together librarians, media and information technologists, and academic support staff to help students and faculty find, use, and evaluate all types of information in a technological world."
Constance Reimer, Chairwoman of Religion & Humanities

"The Learning Center Task Force was initiated several years ago with the focus being a learning center that would provide a math specialist and a reading specialist and would be separate from the Writing Center but connected in a number of ways. This center would house a testing center as a resource for both students and instructors; group study rooms; rooms for math, accounting, and science software; rooms for one-on-one tutoring sessions; and a classroom for group tutoring and workshops.  Some classes scheduled in the classroom could be remedial reading and/or speed reading; workshops for proficiency in various test and others.
Library Learning Center Minimize

Library.jpg      LEARNING CENTER PROJECT

Most of you will be aware that for some time, now, a committee has been working to bring together concepts and ideas for renovating, and to some extent “repositioning”, our university library. The Committee has conceptualized the project as a Center or “Learning Commons” that will bring the campus community to the “library” for numerous learning-related activities beyond the more traditional ones of housing and checking out books. (An espresso-type coffee bar seems to be a necessary “given”…I guess good coffee fits into that description as well!) Over the past several months the committee, along with members of the university administration, has discussed concepts and ideas, read articles, visited at least one other college campus that recently completed some innovative renovation of their library, and met with architects and a library consultant.  

Now it is time to solicit ideas and comments from a larger group of stakeholders and we need your involvement and input. Over the next two weeks members of the committee will be meeting with college divisions to solicit insights and input that can help sharpen the planning and that can inform the discussion. Focus Groups of students, faculty, staff, and alumni will be formed over the next couple of weeks to provide additional input to the architects and the committee in preparation for the next meetings with the consultant.

 

In order to provide background, a special website will be set up that will contain a variety of information including background articles, notes from meetings of the committee, vita of the consultant (Anders Dahlgreen of Library Planning Associates in Illinois), photographs from other universities who have undertaken similar projects, and an overall timeline for planning, design, and construction. We expect the consultant (Mr. Dahlgreen) to be on campus again during the last week of September.

 

 

SCHEDULE FOR THE FOCUS GROUPS

All meetings will take place in the library

 

September 13, 2007      CAPS students from 5:00-6:00 p.m. in Library Room 201

                                     GRAD students from 6:00-7:00 p.m. in Library  Room 201

 

September 17, 2007        CBASE students from 9:30-10:30 a.m. in Library Room 112

 

September 20, 2007        Adjunct Faculty from 5:00-6:00 p.m. in Library Room 112 

 

September 21, 2007        Full-Time Faculty from 12:00-1:30 p.m. in Library Room 112
Documents for Review Minimize
 TitleOwnerCategoryLast UpdatedSize (Kb) 
Conceptual Design Valentina Chappell 9/13/2007 56.50 Download
Learning Center Functions Valentina Chappell 9/17/2007 23.94 Download
Learning Center Proposal Valentina Chappell 9/13/2007 700.11 Download
Meeting Notes Valentina Chappell 9/13/2007 2,298.70 Download
Proposed Project Time Line Valentina Chappell 9/13/2007 220.03 Download
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