Over the summer, AU undertook significant renovations in Bender Library in order to better match students’ desires and expand the book collection, according to Diana Vogelsong, associate university librarian.
Changes include adding three collaborative workrooms, new lounge furniture, sound-muffling suites in media services for sound and video editing and a library training room.
Library staff also removed some reference books that had become available electronically and moved print journals to the Washington Library Research Consortium Center in order to make room for new books, according to Vogelsong.
“It’s very nice,” she said. “You can see the stacks upstairs, and we actually have room to add more books.”
Other renovations include the addition of two quick print stations and restaurant-style booth seating and 32 new computers, according to Vogelsong. The new computers supplement the 48 computers purchased earlier in compliance with a policy regarding updates of AU technology, Bisk said.
Plans for an underground area connecting the library to the new School of International Service building are currently on display. This tunnel will house a graduate research center with a study room, office space for the graduate student leadership, model classrooms, lounge areas and event space, Vogelsong said.
The plans are targeted for completion in May 2010.
Allie Handler, a senior in the School of International Service, said she liked the changes so far.
“I think [using electronic books] is a good idea,” Handler said. “Everyone uses electronics all the time.”
The idea of more collaborative workrooms appealed to Handler. She had attempted to use them before the renovations, but found there were not enough available.
A number of students like Handler asked for group study spaces, according to Vogelsong. The library staff has observed students increasingly working in groups.
In response, many of the changes encourage group work among students, according to Vogelsong. For example, one of the collaborative workrooms includes an LCD monitor to which six laptops can be connected at once. Head of Library Systems Evgeny Bisk said this program, called Mediascape, would allow students to toggle between displays without unplugging their computers.
Students, faculty and staff with ideas about changes to the library can express them via an electronic suggestion box on the library’s Web site. Vogelsong wanted those on campus to know where these renovations originated.
“I think the important thing is a lot of the initiative came from [students] and trying to meet their needs, and we hope that we’ve responded to those in making some of these changes,” Vogelsong said.
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