Tech-niques - The Ideal Library Commons

Flexibility As far as space, a commons area must be flexible; it must be ready to adapt to the users’ ever-changing needs. The open areas must have good lighting and the furniture must be “moveable” in order to accommodate various scenarios and group sizes. There needs to be adequate sources of power for laptops, cell phones and iPads.  There is a raised floor at Loyola University’s Richard J. Klarchek Information Commons, and the floor consists of carpet tiles.  This allows them to pull up the tiles if they need to relocate power and heating sources. The heat which comes from the floor. In addition to open seating areas, there should be plenty of group study rooms, with tables, chairs, power outlets, whiteboards, wireless access, plenty of room for “stuff” including backpacks, etc. Within the commons, there should also be quiet areas where individuals can quietly read and/or do research. Loyola University’s information Commons Group Study Room (over 30 available)

Technology All the commons areas provided their user with technology.  In addition to wireless access, there are public computers, laptop rentals (Macs and Windows), and computers in the study rooms.  They offer digital and video camera rentals.  There is access to printers, plotters and poster printers.  There is also recording equipment and sound booths. I felt like a kid in a candy store!

Access to Information and Resources In addition to technological resources, what other resources are necessary for an information commons?  YOUMedia brought the entire teen book collection from the library into the YOUmedia center.  So in addition to technology, the teens have access to the book collection. The Loyola Information Commons does not have access to books within the commons (except for a few sets of writing style guides and a set of encyclopedias.)  The books are located in the old library, which is connected to the commons.  The reference desk is on the second floor of the commons, so if a student asks for help from the reference desk and needs a book, s/he must go down to the first floor and walk through the connecting corridor to access the books.  This is not very convenient. This brings me into the next criteria of:

Convenience and Easy Access Loyola Information Commons offers an online reservation system from their website so students can make reservations for a group study room.  This makes it very easy for the students to reserve their space. Throughout the commons, there are flat screen monitors displaying the time, some campus activities and when the next bus is coming.  Those aren’t necessarily pieces of information the library needs to distribute, it does, however, provide another convenience for the students. Information flat screens throughout Loyola’s Information Commons We did notice another inconvenience at the commons.  There is a high table of about 10 computers, which is intended for quick in and out use.  Originally, they were placed on the second floor of the commons.  Soon the staff realized how silly this was, since few students took the time to travel up a floor to “quickly” use a computer.  The group of computers was then moved to the first floor of the connected library.  We found it humorous to see that even though the computers were on the first floor, they were right next to a set of doors, which were no longer operational, since the only entrance to the library is through the commons. So the students had to enter through the commons, travel through the connecting hallway, through the library to the computers, and then exit the same way they entered.  Not very convenient!