Flexible spaces for flexible learners

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Flexible spaces for flexible learners

• Professor Jane Core
• Director of Library and Learning Services

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Outline

• The challenge
• Space and design limitations
• Demands on the service
• Student expectations
• Teaching and learning trends
• Designs for learning
• What did the students think?

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Space and design limitations

• City Campus Library Building opened 1978 with
  limited investment in buildings or infrastructure
  since
• 40 workstations in 2001 wiring, ventilation and
  networking limited
• Designed for an individual/didactic approach to
  learning
• Facilities clearly unable to meet user demands
  for newer learning approaches - need for hybrid
  learning environment
• Library basement
• café style for 12 years
• well used to full at all times clearly the
  preferred mix
• no-one understood why this dark hot cave was so
  popular!
• Open access IT centres designed on the IT barn
  principle
• Danger of using ratios of IT to student in the
  belief that IT and access to it is a discrete
  need it was clearly more complex

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Demands on the service

• Students preferred to queue for library IT
• even when capacity was there in an open access IT
  centre
• Satisfaction surveys highlighted demand for
  library based
• lowest satisfaction score in an otherwise
  excellent rating of service of over 90 for
  several years running
• Library activity growing year on year alongside
  online
• the myth that online will mean the end libraries!
  
• Demands for opening hours to be increased
• controlled access systems enabled self service
  opening
• Wireless laptop loan pilot and subsequent service
  gave us very good information on the feasibility
  of wireless services and helped overcome short
  term infrastructure problems

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Student expectations

• Choice in space and type of IT access
• Short term and long term use of IT differing
  requirement
• IT with simultaneous access to print materials
  sought
• IT and information support clearly used
• Flexibility
• Opening hours under pressure in spite of
  enhancements
• Christmas service levels deemed inadequate demand
  
• Group or independent study at different times
• silent / noisy space requirements at different
  times
• Eating and drinking we all do it at our desks!
• Support security social activity
• Informal and social learning expectations

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Teaching and learning trends

• Growth areas at Northumbria
• Use of Blackboard links to use of digital
  library resources
• Groupwork and collaboration
• Group assessment/presentations
• Diverse student population with evidence of
  different support needs some of which were
  quite intensive
• Peer supported learning is evident
• Trends apparent through Learning and Teaching
  Strategy and in enhancement activity across the
  university

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Designs for learning

• Nine floors
• Over half a million volumes of stock and massive
  logistics
• Choice and flexibility needed for students
• Fixed IT, wireless, nomads
• Environment
• Phone zones / no phone zones
• Quiet/silent/group areas research hubs
• Printing centralised to one floor
• Modernising the décor and furnishings
• Addressing the need to eat and drink!

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Northumbria Library Learning Cafe
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Northumbria Library IT suite
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Sunday IT concurrency before library IT suite
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Sunday IT concurrency after library IT suite
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Weekday IT concurrency before library IT suite
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Weekday IT concurrency after library IT suite
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What did the students think?

• The learning café arrangements suit me much
  better now I bring my own laptop.. Before I
  didnt feel comfortable because you could not eat
  and drink at the machines.. Now I can stay longer
  and get on with it..
• Final year student
• I think it is pretty good the way they have
  staggered IT through the building and I do use
  the mix of areas there is even a silent area
  which I used a lot when revising..
• Final year student
• 'fantastic great.....it's so much brighter,
  spacious and not stuffy. Excellent!
• Student commenting on Floor 1 IT suite
• The Learning Cafe is 'ideal for working on group
  presentations...the new sofas are perfect for
  everyone in our group to meet up and sort out our
  projects - saves trying to fit around a couple of
  tables in the old Basement!
• 2nd year student
• As students we used to struggle to find areas
  where we could work in groups. Now the basement
  caters for the needs of all students at all times
  so students can work independently or in groups
  as their work dictates
• From Ryan Bird, architectural student, who
  designed the layout

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What next?

• A new concept in learning space throughout the
  building
• Wireless laptop, fixed and casual IT at optimum
  mix
• Phased development from learning café to IT suite
  to develop lessons learned
• Frequent survey and feedback from students on
  their experiences of using the facility
• Learners beat a path to our door!

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Technology used

• Wireless laptops
• CISCO wireless LAN solution engine centrally
  configured to manage wireless access points
• Static workstations
• Neoware Capio One thin clients on desks
• Nomad casual access points
• Capio thin clients on tall workstations
• Research hubs
• Desktop PCs in screened private study areas
• Storage
• Network space, USB pens available for
  purchase/loan at Learning Café shop