As we contemplate our upcoming relocation and remodel, we are attempting to find spaces around campus for our faculty and staff. One obvious solution has been that the subject liaisons could have offices in the building where their faculty and student constituents are located. I was interested to read this post on the ACRLog about an experience with this. It seems there could be some benefit to this arrangement.

http://acrlog.org/2008/05/31/office-hours/

Hoping we can avoid janitor’s closets -

Rhonda

Happy Labor Day Weekend. Here is a picture of the almost finished product. We are still going to order signs and are still waiting on new desk chairs, but you get the picture. So far, the LIC has been met with positive response!

In addition to the physical changes, we are working to make administrative changes as well. Together with staff from Information Technology Services and First-Year Programs, we have formed the Library Information Commons Steering Committee. This group is working on issues regarding cross-training of staff, communication amongst units, and setting learning objectives for interactions with students. Two of our faculty members will be presenting on this last initiative at the CAL Conference in November.

Come up and see us!

Rhonda

For everyone who expressed interest in seeing pictures of the tables and study carrels, here is a photo of the study carrel. Unfortunately, the 3 x 5 tables are already gone to someone on our campus. I’m sorry, I know those were really in demand!

The carrels are single sided with an upright back that can be placed flush against a wall. Each carrel is 24” deep by approximately 40” wide. They do not have sides. As you can see, the chairs have black plastic molded backs and metal legs with upholstered seats in a variety of colors. They are in fairly good shape and are actually quite comfortable to sit in.

Please respond by email to rhonda.gonzales@colostate-pueblo.edu if you are interested in carrels or chairs that you can come and pick up.

For those of you who have seen our library before, here’s a picture of what we’ve been doing lately. (And one of the reasons I’ve been quiet on the blogging front.)

The new Library Information Commons will include group presentation rooms, laptop study tables, group and individual study areas, the reference collection and library classroom, and the First-Year Student Center.

Come by in a few weeks and see us!

Rhonda

Hi Everyone,

I came to work this morning and realized I hadn’t posted in quite a while. That doesn’t make for a very exciting Blog! Frankly, I just haven’t been making time lately to keep up with reading my daily blogroll postings. That’s usually where I get ideas on what to post. I’ve had a couple of short weeks, due to being out of town and taking a day off for Christmas shopping, so I guess I need to get back on schedule (which probably won’t happen until January 8, actually.)

Two weeks ago I attended a fantastic two day workshop hosted by CLiC called the Coaching Edge. It was very eye opening. I hadn’t really considered my relationships, both personal and professional, in terms of “coaching”. However, I realize now that many of my interactions with others including co-workers, employees, and even family members could be viewed in this light. The workshop validated some strategies I have already been using, albeit subconsciously and also taught some new approaches, which I think will be invaluable!

Last week, I spent one whole day meeting with our architects. We are getting close to finishing the program plan for our building renovation. We are looking at completely renovating the building and adding between 20,000 and 30,000 square feet to the building. The architects have been fabulous. We are working with Joe Bilotta from JBA, Inc., Patrick Johnson from H&L Architects, and Geoff Freeman from Shepley-Bulfinch. I have really appreciated their tenacity in getting us to think outside of our current “box” and not to be constrained by current practices. Some of the small changes we have already made to our building such as adding a coffee cart and more open student study spaces has already increased our building traffic by over 20%, so I feel confident that the plans we are working on to expand these offerings will be well-met by our patrons. We have agreed on a strategy of planning the new facility not based on traditional library functions so much as on levels of social interaction, levels of technology, and levels of support needed. Also, we are working to closely integrate ITS and academic support services with traditional library services to create a very organic student success focused space.

Today I met with other Colorado Academic Library Consortium members to continue planning for our 2nd Colorado Academic Library Summit to be held May 31st/June 1st in Denver. The topic, which I’m very excited about focus on changing landscapes in academic libraries and will include tracks on changing cultures and values within libraries, changing technologies, and the need for better outreach and collaboration. We are still working out the details including inviting speakers so I’ll give more details soon.

The rest of this week we are just winding down to Christmas break and trying to finish up book ordering and other collection projects. I also have to get my ACRL statistics done by Friday!!!

Best wishes for a Blessed Christmas!

StevenB just posted today on an article in the Chronicle that discussed what makes new library buildings “work” for students. It’s interesting to me because some of the trends we have been looking at with our architects were mentioned as NOT being the factors that make the most difference. Read the post from ACRLog called the Lush and Vibrant Library.

I have just spent the last two days meeting with the architects that are helping us to prepare a program plan to turn in to the state for funding for a library revitalization. These guys ask really good questions! They have been encouraging the campus to think about the library of the future as the Information Center for campus with the librarians serving as information managers. This is not a totally revolutionary concept, but as we were discussing it with our director of IT, it made me realize that there is more overlap than I realized. It became clear that we each considered ourselves responsible in some ways for the management of certain records. I am the official liaison to the State Archives to report on how the campus is disposing of records and to ensure that campus units comply with state retention guidelines. However, IT is the one actually helping the departments digitize and archive their information as this process has become largely electronic. But neither of us has particularly worried about how to organize access to campus generated information. I am planning to do some research to find out how many academic libraries are using institutional repositories as a means to provide access to university administrative and student data as well as academic data. One good example that I know of is Georgia Tech. http://www.library.gatech.edu/