LibraryLinks Fall 2007/Spring2008

Bartle Library Information Commons Gears Up for Phase II

By Dave Vose and Bern Mulligan

The Bartle Library Information Commons (IC), which opened March 19, 2006, will get a “makeover” this summer that will include an expanded footprint with more computers, printers, and scanners to accommodate increased student demand.

IC Phase I includes 170 computers, both PCs and Macs, with a vast array of application software and tools. Scanning, color printing, laptop loans, and space to collaborate and practice presentations are also available. The service desk is staffed by librarians and information technology consultants ready to answer questions that run the gamut from the very simple to the very complex.

IC Phase II will feature nearly three dozen additional computers on furniture designed for individual and group work, additional express workstations, new multimedia workstations, a walk-up computer bar, and consolidated printing islands to shorten the time students have to wait to print their documents. Additional computers and study space will also be available on the second floor mezzanine above the first floor commons.

This past spring, the American Library Association published a book entitled Transforming Library Service through Information Commons: Case Studies for the Digital Age, edited by D. Russell Bailey and Barbara G. Tierney, which includes a chapter on the Bartle Library IC. This case study highlights the planning process and collaboration between the University Libraries and Information Technology Services and the services, furniture, and facilities available in our IC.

In addition to the Bartle Library IC, there is an IC in the Science Library with 50 computers and one in the University Downtown Center (see article on page 1).