ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries February 1 9 9 7 / 75 Building lib rarie s in the virtu al age By C h arlen e H urt New considerations bring a new vision o f acad em ic libraries J ustifying the construction o f new space in academic libraries has always been diffi­ cult, and the advent of the “virtual” or “digital” library has only added to that difficulty. About ten years ago the Council o f Higher Education, Virginia, estimated that the state-supported aca­ demic libraries o f the Commonwealth would need to construct nine acres o f shelving if col­ lection growth were to continue at the current rate. The response of the state’s lawmakers was not to begin budget planning for new construc­ tion, but to begin looking for alternatives. The days when a simple formula o f volume count and student population would generate fund­ ing for new space are clearly over. What is needed is a vision o f what the aca­ demic library o f the 21st century will be, and that requires examining our basic assumptions about the future role the library will play in higher education. Involving faculty and stu­ dents as well as librarians in developing that vision can be the beginning o f a process that will result in funding for a new kind o f li­ brary integral to the teaching and learning process o f the university. Envisioning the new age library Although the vision for the new library will vary from campus to campus, there are some assumptions I believe will be common to all: • teaching and learning are becom ing more collaborative, and will continue to be; • le a rn in g should b e free o f artificial space constraints; • the new information environment will re­ quire constant training and updating; • everyone will want to be connected; • text and media will merge; • electronic resources will change the role of paper. If library design is informed by these as­ sumptions, then the unspoken but most essen­ tial fact o f libraries will continue to be true: the library as a “place” will continue to be an im­ portant part o f university life. • T each in g a n d le a rn in g a re b e co m in g m o re collab orative. A library designed for col­ laborative learning is not a quiet library where the primary interaction is betw een a scholar and a paper document. Library users need group study rooms and tables, individual and group carrels, and a mix o f seating comfortable for various styles o f working together. They also need access to media and technology in shared environments, which means everything has to be wired for power and network connections. • L earn in g sh o u ld b e free o f sp a c e c o n ­ stra in ts. Experiential learning takes place any- A stu d y a r e a in G eorge M ason U n iv ersity ’s new G eorge W. J o h n s o n C en ter. C harlene Hurt is university librarian a t G eorge Mason University; e-m ail: churt@f e n 1.gm u.edu 7 6 / C&RL News w h ere, anytime, in a variety o f environments, often social. A library that sets itself aside as a “temple o f learning” w here quiet and austerity prevail will please the needs o f a particular subset o f the student population, but will alien­ ate many others. The popularity of bookstores that serve drinks and food demonstrates a pref­ erence for a more casual, social environment, as does our students’ preference for seating in highly visible areas, and their use o f headphones to listen to music while they study. • C o n sta n t tra in in g a n d re tra in in g w b e n e c e s s a r y in th e n ew in f o rm a tio n en v i­ r o n m e n t. The information environment is in a constant state of change, and information pro­ fessionals are needed more than ever to moni­ tor the changes, design systems to exploit new resources, and teach faculty and students how to use those systems. Early fears o f librarians that w e might becom e redundant in the world o f automated systems have been replaced by fears that w e ca n ’t possibly meet the demand for training and coaching. W e’ve also com e to realize that w e have to accom modate a variety o f learning styles, including classroom instruc- GMU’s n e w G eo rg e W. J o h n s o n C e n te r c o m ­ b in es a 1 0 0 ,0 0 0 -s q u a r e -fo o t l ib ra ry w ith m e e t­ ing, p ro g ra m m in g , a n d fo o d s e rv ic e s p a c e . tion, small group coaching, individual appoint­ ments, and drop-in assistance. So new library design has to include a flexible, networked li­ brary instruction room, workstation carrels that can seat small groups, a reference and/or in­ formation desk to respond to drop-ins, and nearby offices for more sustained consultation. • E v e ry o n e n e e d s to be c o n n e c te d . Stu­ dents increasingly carry their own computers with them, and are looking for places to plug them in and get access to the campus network. illMos t, if not all, seats in the library should be wired for pow er and access, using carrels and tables with adequate wire management systems to permit flexibility in furniture placement. Li­ braries will also need to think about develop­ ing check-out systems for equipment that stu­ dents may n eed to get co n n ected , and for laptops for students w ho don’t have their own. • T h e m e r g e r o f t e x t a n d m ed ia. Librar­ ies that can ’t provide graphical interfaces and im age-based systems are in danger o f seeming irrelevant to students and faculty, but provid­ ing the technology necessary for that access is expensive and raises a w hole new set o f issues regarding security, printing costs, and appro­ priate use o f library computing. Libraries need to plan for extensive multimedia use, includ­ ing student requests to incorporate media into their research assignments and presentations. • E le c tro n ic re s o u r c e s c h a n g e th e ro le o f p a p e r. Not every library has to b e an archi­ val library, especially in multilibrary systems. Increasingly, archives will b e electronic, esp e­ cially for journals, and it will be easier to pro­ vide access to materials not owned. Freed from archival restraints, libraries can rethink their need for ever-increasing stacks, restricted ar­ eas, automatic binding o f paperbacks, and en ­ vironments free from food or drink. The gains in flexibility w hen one chooses to install five- foot stacks instead o f seven-foot stacks may be worth the loss o f shelves. Each library will have to work with a differ­ ent set o f circumstances and constraints in plan­ ning for additional space, but the necessity for examining the basic assumptions upon which our decisions are based is essential and must include informed guesses about how libraries will evolve. The one assumption w e haven’t always addressed is the most important: • L ib raries a r e a n d w ill co n tin u e to be im p o r ta n t as p l a c e s in a ca d e m ic c o m m u ­ n ities. There are many reasons why students (N ew a g e con t. o n p a g e 9 1 ) F ebru ary 1 9 9 7 / 77 Break new ground T h e foundation for innovation? Com plete knowledge o f research activity. So consider ISI® Citation Indexes your blueprint for new ideas. Reach back to uncover concepts from before your tim e…and develop groundwork for what lies ahead. O ur indexes help you plot the course o f your research, absorb predecessors’ thinking, study your contem poraries’ w ork… then make y o u r mark on the future. W ith each cited reference you consult, you gather more precise inform ation that will shape your w ork into exactly what you need. Such comprehensive search results are unattainable with any other service. ISI Citation Indexes. Plan for groundbreaking discoveries. Building better research Citation Indexes exclusively from Institute for Scientific Inform ationMS For m ore inform ation, call 1 -8 0 0 -3 3 6 - 4 4 7 4 or 2 1 5 - 3 8 6 -0 1 0 0 ISI Europe: + 4 4 - 1 8 9 5 - 2 7 0 0 1 6 ISI Jap an: + 8 1 - 3 - 5 5 6 2 - 3 5 7 1 http://www.isinet.com http://www.isinet.com 7 8 / C&RL News February 1 9 9 7 / 91 mega-sites. A ccess: http ://www. shss.montclair. edu/english/furr/media.html. • CRAYON. Create Your Own Newspaper. Selection is a breeze in a well-executed, step- by-step design. The site allows you to select the type o f news links and from where. It also lists which sites, in order o f preference, are picked by those w ho’ve created their own pa­ per before you; more than 60,000 people have. A ccess: http://crayon.net/. • FCC— T h e F e d e ra l C o m m u n ica tio n s C om m ission . Regulates interstate, international communications by radio, television, wire, sat­ ellite, and cable. Lists links to all o f the FCC’s business. Also listed is the Telecommunications Act o f 1996. A ccess: http://www.fcc.gov/. • C o m m u n i c a t i o n s D e c e n c y A c t o f 1 9 9 6 . A site all librarians should know about since there are now challenges in the courts from ALA and other groups. Information is bro­ ken down into broad sections within subsec­ tions. A ccess: http://www.rahul.net/starowl/ cda-text.htm. • J o u r n a lis t’s T o o lb o x . Produced by the National Scholastic Press Association and As­ sociated Collegiate Press. This site is aimed at university, college, and high school newspa­ pers and press people. Very useful sites for all aspects o f mass media and publishing-related sites. Nicely laid out and alphabetical in orien­ tation. Easy to look at and use. A ccess: http:// studentpress.journ.umn.edu/Toolbox.html. • M edia W atch d og . Offers links to sites that w atch media sou rces and em phasizes watching and discussing the accuracy and bias in the mainstream media. The site is broken down into five subject groups: time sensitive information, media criticism organizations and resources, media criticism articles, censorship resources, and other resources. A ccess: http:// theory.lcs.mit.edu/~mernst/media/. • T h e EraM p ro g ra m . Here is a site with an interest in issues relating to ethnicity, rac­ ism, and the media aimed at academics, stu­ dents, and media professionals. Listed are some megasites, TV/radio sites, organizations, and academic sites. A ccess: http://www.brad.ac.uk/ research/eram/wwwsites.html. ■ (N ew a g e cont. f r o m p a g e 76) and faculty go to libraries, and only one o f them is to gain access to collections. If a library sys­ tem wants to reassert its right to be considered the heart o f the university, it needs to think about those reasons, and make sure its build­ ing plans take them into account. Here are some o f the reasons I think there will always be a need for library buildings: • students and faculty need the assistance o f information professionals and will prefer to secure that assistance in person whenever pos­ sible; • students need places where information resources are available so they can meet with classmates to work together on class projects; • students need to get out o f noisy dorm rooms and family homes so they can con cen ­ trate on their studies; • libraries frequently will have better work­ stations, printers, and/or network connections than are available to students or faculty at home; • students and faculty like the ambiance o f libraries (and bookstores) and find it condu­ cive to learning; • students are s o c ia l beings, and like b e­ ing in the midst o f other people. An exam ple o f how these assumptions have informed the building o f a new library can be seen at G eorge Mason University’s Joh n so n Center, w hich includes a library, bookstore, food services, theater, Media Authoring Cen­ ter, and student and academic program offices. For a preview, go to our homepage at http:// ulcweb.gmu.edu. Ed. note: See C&RL News, M ay 1996, f o r a n ov erv iew o f th e cen ter. ■ Learn more about building libraries If you enjoyed this article, you may want to attend the preconference Hurt developed for ACRL called “Building the New Age Li­ brary,” Friday, April 11, 1:00–4 :3 0 p.m., in Nashville. It will cover new ways o f think­ ing about library buildings and provide prac­ tical examples using the Joh n son Center at GMU, including its food services, book store, computer labs, movie theater, and more. For registration information see the preliminary program in the January issue o f C&RL News or ch eck the conference homepage at http: //www. ala. org/acrl. html. http://crayon.net/ http://www.fcc.gov/ http://www.rahul.net/starowl/ http://www.brad.ac.uk/