ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 4 1 4 /C&RL News ■ June 1998 Renovating for technology: Partnerships produce quick results How a little team work went a long way by David J. Nutty A promise by the president of the uni­ versity, a strong partnership with the University’s Computer Information and source C enter (CIRC), and a very tight timeline led to an almost instant transfor­ mation of an underutilized, basement-level reading area at the Gelman Library at George Washington University (GWU), Washington, D.C., into the attractive, state-of-the-art CIRC Gelman Learning Technology Labs, which include a 24-hour student computer lab and a new Faculty Instructional Technology Lab. In the spring of 1997, pressure to add additional student computing facilities in­ creased dramatically after the university an­ nounced a 6.9 percent tuition increase to fund, among other things, enhanced com­ puter network and technology on campus. Strong negative student reaction to the tu­ ition increase provided the incentive to “fast track” visible and needed improvements for the opening of the fall 1997 term. In addition, a long-discussed need to pro­ mote the use of instructional technology among the faculty had been put on hold for lack of suitable space to build a faculty de­ velopment center, and the chemistry depart­ ment delayed the launch of computer-as­ sisted instruction for students, due to the absence of an appropriate computer facil­ ity. Money had been allocated for all three Re needs, but space at this urban university is always an issue. Where, when, and how ­ were the questions. The Gelman Library and CIRC (academic computing) have built a strong and positive working relationship. Though administra­ tively separated and reporting to different vice presidents, the library and CIRC, led by University Librarian Jack Siggins and Di­ rector of CIRC Brad Reese, had partnered on other initiatives. Interestingly, the library’s technical computing support is provided on a contract basis by CIRC employees based in the library. The foundation for moving forward was in place. M a k in g room In a series of meetings with the associate vice president for academic affairs, there was consensus that GWU needed to move ag­ gressively in improving its instructional tech­ nology resources and, in the longer term, the development of an “information arcade” type of resource center. The Gelman Library has been a campus leader in introducing technology and auto­ mation, providing electronic resources and Internet training for several years. While it may seem extraordinary on a space-starved campus for a library (with its own space concerns) to volunteer 4,600 square feet for About the author David J. N utty is associate university librarian fo r Information Servicesand Technology a t The George Washington University Washington, D.G.; e-mail: nutty@ gwu.edu. Assistance provided by Andrea Stewart, director o f administration, and Erica Augnst, coordinator o f public relations, special events, and Friends o f the Library mailto:nutty@gwu.edu C&RL News ■ June 1 9 9 8 / 4 1 5 a non-traditional library project, it was not a difficult decision for Siggins w ho com ­ ments, “What better use of this space could there be than to provide a resource for students which w ould immediately and di­ rectly enhance their learning experience? The facility has proven to be even more popular than expected. Every terminal is in use most of the 24-hours each day it is o p e n .” By early May, the plan was put in m o­ tion. The library w ould p rovide space, CIRC would operate the new facility, and the p la n n in g and c o n stru c tio n p ro cess w ould be a partnership. Building perm its w ere issued on June 13, and the first c o n ­ struction m eeting occurred on June 25, just eight w eeks before the opening of the fall semester. O bviously w ork had to be in­ tensive and tightly coordinated. The part­ nership betw een the university’s planning group, the architects, the project manager, and the construction com pany was essen ­ tial for taking the project from first design to occupancy in just 15 w eeks. The 58-seat student com puter lab. The use o f w o helped create an inviting 24-hour space in the Ge W ashington architectural firm Einhorn, Yaffee, P re sc o tt d e s ig n e d th e p ro je ct. Project architects Jo h n B axter and Eric A nderson created an o p e n and inviting space. Anderson noted that, “O ur mission was to provide a space students w ould enjoy being in during the day or at 3 a.m. … We also w anted to convey a sublim i­ nal m essage that the university is com m it­ ted to staying abreast of technological a d ­ vances and will provide its students with state-of-the-art equipm ent and the envi­ ronm ent in w hich to use it.” An airy entrance corridor using a bar­ rel vault ceiling was designed to provide a casual m eeting place for students to sit and w ork in a com fortable and brightly lit environm ent. A nderson continued, “The use of w ood and saturated colors helps to create a calm, warm environm ent, which helps soften the otherw ise cold edge of tech n o lo g y .” The th re e e le m e n ts The end result is a m ixed-use technology space designed to meet the needs of both students and faculty. The largest elem ent is a 58-seat public com puter lab eq u ip p ed with Pentium 220 MHZ com puters fully netw orked with fiber cabling to the com ­ puter. The lab is o p en 24 hours a day and com plem ents the library’s 24-hour read ­ ing ro o m , lo c a te d one floor above. The existing entrance for the library’s 24-hour room was m odified and now serves as the access point for b o th s tu d y s p a c e and co m p u ter labs. T h e c o n c e p t o f a com bined 24/7 stu­ d e n t area for b o th r e a d in g a n d c o m ­ puter use in contigu­ o u s s p a c e s w ith in the library is a p p e a l­ ing. A second elem ent is a scheduled com ­ od and saturated colors p u te r lab w ith 13 lman Library basement. w o r k s ta tio n s . T h e lab can be scheduled by departm ent, such as chemistry, and by faculty for class use or for individual com ­ puter-aided instruction for students. When not sc h e d u le d , the lab is o p e n e d as a supplem ental public com puting space. The third com ponent is the Instructional Technology Lab (ITL), w here faculty can 4 1 6 / C&RL News ■ June 1998 work with a staff of three instructional tech­ nologists who are members of the CIRC staff. The ITL is committed to a collaborative en ­ vironment with the Gelman Library and the university’s Teaching Center. The area in­ cludes modular office areas for the staff, but most of the space was designed as a fully wired, large, open area with flexible-use fur­ niture to accommodate evolving technolo­ gies. The objectives of the ITL include: • Innovation: to help prepare faculty to work with innovative technologies and be­ gin to apply evolving technologies to their classes. • Instruction: to provide faculty with in­ structional opportunities to enhance their skills. • Collaboration: through intensive w ork­ shops the lab works collaboratively with faculty and graduate student teams to pro­ vide su p p o rt for p ro to ty p e m ultim edia projects. ITL also works collaboratively with other university departments and resources to train and provide support in the use of instructional technologies. • Support: ITL serves as both an infor­ mal and formal support mechanism for fac­ ulty and coordinates support throughout the university. • Resources: provides hardware and soft­ ware resources to faculty. "Th e f a c ilit y h a s p ro v e n to be e v e n m o re p o p u la r th a n e x p e c te d . E v e ry te r m in a l is in u se m o st o f th e 2 4 -h o u rs each d a y it is o p e n ." • Quality: the use of instructional de­ sign principles and techniques are encour­ aged and supported. • Involvement: ITL takes a leadership role in fostering synergistic relationships on cam­ pus. The GWU Gelman Learning Technology Labs project proves that in the sometimes slow moving world of academia a technol­ ogy project can move on a fast track from initial idea to completion when there is ad­ ministrative support, a strong partnership betw een the library and academic com put­ ing, an institutional will that instructional technology is important, and excellent work by architects and construction and trades people. The labs have been heavily used from the moment they opened. Discussion has already started for a phase two of the CIRC Gelman Technology Center.