Learning Resources

The Library as Learning Commons

By: Derek Jones, Andrew Grote

Even in the digital age, the library plays a fundamental role in campus life and learning, particularly when it’s updated to meet the needs of 21st-century students and pedagogies.

From Volume 46 Number 3 | April–June 2018

Abstract: Following decades of decline in perceived status and value, the university library has found new life as a center of the knowledge economy, of collaborative learning, and of creative production. The challenge of updating the library mission for the digital age is further complicated when that library resides within a 1960s Brutalist concrete structure. The revitalization of the Douglas D. Schumann Library & Learning Commons at the Wentworth Institute of Technology illustrates the process of transforming a foreboding, bunker-like space into a modern, vibrant campus destination.

Institutions Mentioned: Wentworth Institute of Technology
Planning Types: Campus Planning, Library Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Learning Commons, Library, Library Planning

Member Price:
Free | Login

Member-only Resource

Join now to have access

The New Frontier

Libraries With No Limits

By: Jennifer Conlin

U-M’s libraries are not just flourishing, they’re futuristic—embracing the latest technologies and trends in design while maintaining their ultimate mission of enabling and empowering discovery.

From Volume 44 Number 4 | July–September 2016

Abstract: University libraries nationwide are changing dramatically, and those at the University of Michigan are no exception. While this article focuses on the renovated Health Science Library, many other of the 19 U of M libraries are included in this piece. The Health Science Library boasts everything from futuristic décor and visualization workstations to a virtual cadaver, inviting students from across the campus.