Campus Library 2.0
Library Journal
129 no7 30-3 Ap 15, 2004

Since we have read about Library 2.0, and will talk about it more probably, this article caught my eye. It is about a student who attends one school but goes to the library at another school – why? “I like it,” he says.

What makes a student like a certain library? Perhaps it is the idea of the information commons, a breath of fresh air for libraries that since the late 1990s were facing declining gate counts and circulation figures.

What is the information commons? Well, it seems somewhat elusive, even to the author of this article who was actively visiting such places. There doesn’t seem to be a common idea. The basics, however, do seem to be fairly common (no pun intended) and include many computers, collaborative space, comfortable furniture, and some kind of café or lounge.
Why “make the change?” According to University of Indiana officials, gate counts increased about 20 percent after the addition of the information commons. The actual physical change is actually just a representation of the practice that has already changed. Many libraries have already shifted to more digital teaching. The main goal of course is accepting that technology is a part of our everyday lives, and as such, how do we make it easiest for the user?

The bottom line is some libraries were deserted and how can we help users then? The different is now with offering additional resource, technology, instruction and collaborative and social space, the libraries are busy, thriving places.
My recurring thought throughout this article, and other similar discussions, remains a concern about building a “traditional” school. We are in the process of building a new school with completion expected in 2007/2008. I fear that we just rebuilt our current design in a different place rather than really considering what the future will be.