NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 23 number 3 - Spring 2003

Welcome to the Learning and Research Center for the Digital Age

By Carolyn Argentati, Public Services, and Kristin Antelman, Information

This is a landmark year for an initiative at the heart of both the NCSU Libraries' mission and its physical space, as the Libraries opens its Learning and Research Center for the Digital Age (LRCDA). This major renovation project, based on a vision formed more than a decade ago that recognized the potential impact of digital resources on higher education, as well as the expressed needs of faculty and students, has brought together a number of essential services and facilities to create a technologically rich environment of collaboration, discovery, and creativity. The LRCDA embodies important partnerships between the NCSU Libraries and other key campus units, primarily the university's Information Technology Division (ITD) and Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA) organization. Staff from the Libraries, DELTA, and ITD will work together to provide technology training, consultation, and guidance in the development of digital materials for teaching and learning. With the opening of the LRCDA, the stage is set for developing many exciting initiatives on the forefront and at the nexus of the information technology, scholarly communication, instructional technology, and information science fields, while reaching into all disciplines with high-quality digital content and services. Information about the LRCDA may be found on the Web at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/administration/lrcda/index.html.

The LRCDA components are:

• Media Lab
• Usability Research Laboratory
• Information Technologies Teaching Center
• Scholarly Communication Center
• Learning Technology Service (DELTA)
• Digital Library Initiatives Department
• Special meeting rooms and facilities for LRCDA and library activities

The Faculty Center for Teaching and Learning within the Office of the Provost also continues to work closely with the LRCDA partners from its new location in Clark Hall.