Library plans for upgrade

Seeking to continue the success of the Library West Commons project, administrators at the Tech library are embarking on a set of initiatives to improve its facilities and focus the library as the center for interdisciplinary intellectual activity on campus.

These initiatives include a renovation of the west wing on the first floor, as well as a new library lecture series that will begin at the end of the month.

The idea for the lecture series originated from library staff members who wanted to increase the student accessibility of faculty research projects on campus.

"We want to make [the research] understandable to the average person," said librarian Cathy Carpenter.

"There is a need for a public forum-someone should be promoting and disseminating research findings across campus.we are the proper venue," Carpenter said.

Library officials are optimistic that the lecture series will promote increased communication and dialog between faculty members in different departments.

"People that are doing research in certain discipline areas aren't aware that other people on campus in other places.actually have something that can work together on, and there is an opportunity for synergy," said Rich Meyer, dean of libraries.

We want to be able to provide tools that facilitate that.and the speakers series is one of those tools," he said.

Dr. Stephen Potter, Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering, will be the speaker at the first lecture in the series, will provide a lecture on "Hybrots: Living Neuronal Networks" on Feb. 22.

Potter views his lecture at the library as an opportunity to present his research outside his school.

"Reaching out to lay people or to other scientists not in the field is important to me," he said.

Potter also hoped the upcoming lecture might serve as a recruiting tool for his field, "as a way to get undergrad researchers into the lab," he said. "If some students come [to the lecture] and get excited about it, they might find a job doing research."

Both Potter and the library emphasize accessibility as an important part of the lecture series.

"The key thing is to make sure that you use a lot of metaphors and explain things in terms of things that people have experience with," Potter said of presenting research.

The library also hopes that the lecture series will provide additional opportunities for professors, especially in the area of tenure.

"We are getting enthusiasm from researchers that are thrilled about coming over here to present," said lecture organizer Laurie Judd. "I'm going to assistant professors, and I think that it benefits them because they can put it on their vita when they are trying to get tenured."

According to Meyer, the lecture talks were presaged by a recognition that the library had to continue innovating to create student-friendly resources such as the Library West Commons.

"The building has changed profoundly.after we opened the LWC, our door count doubled, and it has stayed at that level," Meyer said. "That was a message to us that there was something in the past that was missing and was now available."

A longer-term project is also in the works: the library has proposed additional renovations to the first floor of the building.

According to Crit Stuart, assistant director of Information Services, discussion on further renovations were catalyzed by feedback received from student focus groups.

"[The focus groups] told us that most of them would prefer to come here, because we feel like the appropriate ground for people to converge and people to learn together," Stuart said.

The library has also detailed short-term plans for physical improvements to the building. These include replacing the tables and chairs on first floor west with furniture to encourage group study and social interaction.

The first floor computer cluster will also be expanded from its current size of 25 computers to a total of 35.

Another popular request among the focus group participants was that the library needed some sort of refreshment area, so a small cafe will also be located on the first floor that will sell coffee and other refreshments.

Library officials anticipate the remodeling of the first floor to include more group space will be accomplished by October 2005, with the cafe to be built soon after.

Student response to the proposed changes has been positive.

"I really think that the environment of the library is going to change.I think that students will begin to take that space more towards the feel of the student center commons," said Paul Supawanich, a fourth-year Industrial Engineering major and a student representative on the Library Student Advisory Council.

Supawanich also praised the library's willingness to hear student feedback on the proposed projects.

"I think that they've been open to student ideas.from the impression I got, there has been a real shift in their thinking in how they want student input," he said.

Overall, Meyer feels that the library will continue to serve as the primary information resource on campus. "We hope that what we can do is substantiate the internet by providing ways for people to be cleanly and clearly linked to the other information resources that are available.it is not an easy task," he said.