NCSU Libraries Focus Online

Volume 27 number 3 - Spring 2007

D. H. Hill Library East Wing Reopens March 2007: Learning Commons Opens in D. H. Hill Library

By Joe M. Williams, Director, Learning Commons

What is a Learning Commons? NC State students found out on March 12, when the D. H. Hill Library opened its doors to this new, state-of-the-art learning space. The Learning Commons (LC) is an exciting new center for creativity, research, and collaboration on NC State's campus. It is a space designed for both individual and group work, inspiration and socializing, research, and relaxation. The 14,000-square-foot Learning Commons supports all of these activities by integrating cutting-edge technology, learning space design principles, and improved access to information resources. Students have played an integral role in shaping today's LC and will continue to inform and help envision the future of this vibrant learning space in the coming months and years.

Computers Galore! The Learning Commons sets the new standard on campus as a media-rich workspace where researchers can take projects from idea to finished product, with support at each step along the way. The LC added more than 100 workstations to the D. H. Hill landscape. These new computers--a mix of PCs and iMacs--are sleek and fast and come loaded with all the familiar campus "Unity" software that students expect, including those essential Microsoft Office applications.

Some of the computers in the LC feature specialized software and functionalities. Two workstations offer an extended menu of software to support geospatial and numeric data needs. These data machines are outfitted with extra large monitors and have the added ability to display desktop images on two forty-two-inch wall-mounted LCD screens. This feature lends itself to impromptu teaching and demonstration sessions in the Commons, and it also allows patrons to review maps and images in much greater scale and detail.

Six other computers in the LC are clustered together with enhanced tools for multimedia projects, such as flatbed document scanners and image-editing applications. The library's Digital Media Lab will continue to operate on the East Wing's second floor, providing support for in-depth multimedia projects such as video editing, image creation, or poster printing. No matter where students are working, knowledgeable staff and student workers are always nearby and eager to assist with all of these standard and specialized computing options.

Laptops, Cameras, MP3 Players, and Other Gadgets. All of the Libraries' device-lending services are now centralized at one single service area at D. H. Hill, just inside the entrance of the new Learning Commons. Students can stop at one place to borrow laptops, tablet PCs, digital cameras, digital camcorders, iPods, and MP3 players. With these devices readily available, students can move easily throughout the 100-percent wireless D. H. Hill Library facility; listen to eBooks and instructors' podcasts anywhere, anytime; or decide to turn their latest group project into a digital documentary.

The Libraries also recognizes that the learning cycle contains periods of rest, relaxation, and fun. For that reason, the LC offers occasional video-gaming nights. During these events, students can play networked, multiplayer games with classmates and friends on popular, next-generation gaming consoles such as Sony's dynamic xBox 360. NC State faculty and students involved in game design initiatives, both on campus and nationally, are also looking forward to showcasing their work in the Commons.

Digital Signs. The Commons is an ideal venue for showcasing the NCSU community's projects and achievements, thanks to the many digital signs located throughout the space. The screens range from forty-two inches to sixty-two inches and display a variety of content. In addition to announcements about library and campus happenings and highlights of faculty and student work, these "eBoards" also display occasional images intended to inspire and please the eye.

Collaboration Spaces. The beautiful furniture and other appointments in the LC are modern, artful, and highly functional pieces. The Herman Miller Resolve System provides students with sleek, airy workspaces and privacy screens, designed to support group work and discussion throughout the space. A number of more traditional study tables are available as well. Other areas of the Commons contain comfortable soft seating--featuring classic Eames and Nelson-designed pieces--and whiteboards that can be moved and reconfigured to suit student needs.

The overall design of the LC focuses on group work. Computers are arranged in clusters. Each computer rests on a table with ample room for groups to gather around a single screen, or tables can accommodate several people seated together with laptops. For larger groups, the LC provides two private group study rooms, where students can meet or share screen displays from their laptops on the wall-mounted LCD screen. In the Presentation Practice Room, small groups and individuals can practice delivering presentations with an overhead LCD projector and whiteboards. The flip of a switch changes the room’s glass wall from clear to opaque for privacy on demand.

Shaped by Students. NC State students have been involved in each step of planning for the Learning Commons, telling NCSU Libraries planners what students want and offering ideas for space design, software and equipment, and services. Student focus groups and lunch meetings, conducted in 2005, 2006, and 2007, solicited student opinions and perspectives. Student members of the University Library Committee (ULC) gave ongoing input, and a standing ULC student LC subcommittee has been created to ensure ongoing feedback and discussion.

Access to Resources. Information resources are everywhere in the Learning Commons. In addition to the array of computers and eBoards, the print reference collection lines the perimeter of the room. Professional reference help is always available online and in person, as librarians work side by side with students and faculty in the space. One-on-one instruction, small group demos and reviews, and on-the-fly, walk-in classes are all standard fare in the LC, based on student requests and demands.

Students often prefer to seek help and advice from their peers. For this reason, the Learning Commons staff includes a large number of highly trained student workers, graduate assistants, and Peer Research Advisors.

The Learning Commons is a new center for creativity, research, and collaboration on the NC State campus. It is a space designed by and for our students, and it will continue to be informed and transformed by students in the years to come. For more details, see the Learning Commons Web site at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/learningcommons/.