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Furniture & spaces:

  • variety is and clear zoning are key
  • don't be afraid to pick the wrong thing
  • let students dictate what a space will be - don't try to set the vision for the space on your own
  • be willing to let things evolve
  • saw a lot of graduate commons or study areas that were enclosed
  • faculty lounge/commons
  • more whiteboards!!
  • lockers all sizes; no key needed - 1st come, 1st served
  • color used for way-finding and for defining certain spaces or floors
  • changing needs of spaces based on time of day
  • research commons space - don't need to build a physical space, showcase the ongoing work that students are doing throughout their careers in the library; this provides ownership and engages other students and faculty
  • Presentation rooms, group rooms, very few locations with individual study rooms(!) - most had individual study areas
  • Variety of group room sizes - some were built for 4,6, or 8 and some were more like conference rooms that could hold 15-20
  • Open group study spaces as well as study space behind walls 

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  • test spaces in the library for furniture - all universities had this to varying degrees
  • engage your student advisory committee
  • single out students for the advisory committee prior to the start of their college career (GA Tech model: have them make 4 yr commitment with ask from respected admission/scholarship person and dean)
  • team effort to get the feedback
  • engage faculty advisory
  • set up user study with faculty to gain buy-in - Link model of testing the space with certain faculty and then communicating those results with everyone (also worked with their equivalent of CTE fellows)
  • find non-threatening arenas to gather information - GaTech radio show 
  • take comments to dept head meeting then post online the responses
  • GA Tech implementing their own version of Counting Opinions for continuous feedback

Multi-Media:

  • separate room at all locations
  • many of these rooms had a student run help desk - relied heavily on students for software support
  • 15-20 computers (variety of macs and pcs) all with high quality headphones, decent work space, and necessary software
  • 1 room dedicated to collaborative multimedia projects - Duke & NCSU
  • 1 sound proof room - Duke only
  • Music Rooms - NSCU only

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  • Vision statement for space both immediate and long term
  • understand that good customer service doesn't always mean being able to fix/correct/provide an answer for someone
  • don't underestimate the student - they are adults, let's assume they can handle policing each other/bring their own laptops/respect one another/understand consequences 
  • understand what story you are trying to tell with a space. what do you want the space(s) to do? communicate that to architect and they will handle details
  • spaces as ecosystem - once you make changes in one place that will affect behavior in other spaces
  • New additions require new staffing patterns (redefinition of core competencies; dedicated positions rather than one person doing simultaneous things)
  • In design process, have all necessary stakeholders involved at beginning of process (e.g. Tech people involved before integrators come in)
  • Design for flexibility (post and beam construction, mobility, track systems, dropped ceilings, wire hangers)
  • Use cases and case studies and room and user typologies are good tools for design process.
    Tips:
  • whatever space you renovate, the space next to it will look bad - if we can, modify a little on all floors or at least be aware of that divide
  • lcd display of classes - no need to have the classes after the first 2-3 weeks of classes
  • all spaces had a computer availability screen
  • student assistant help site - blog for student workers to share their tips and tricks
  • student schedule available for public to see - added info on who had expertise with what
  • line needs to drawn and understood by all on what the library provides and what the library provides training for

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