Session Title
The Academic Library in 2013: What's It For?
Session Location
Grand Valley State University, Eberhard Center
Session Start Date and Time
21-8-2013 9:30 AM
Session End Date and Time
21-8-2013 10:30 AM
Session Abstract
Academic libraries are being shaped dramatically and quickly by the multiple and escalating pull of technologies, new social practices and evolving pedagogies. Collections that once were physical are now largely virtual. Behaviors that tended to be quiet and solitary are now often noisy and sociable. Research questions that used to be directed to a librarian at a reference desk may now be directed to Google or Wikipedia on a laptop in Starbucks. Despite the magnitude of change and the seeming diminution of the academic library’s traditional place in the university, Grand Valley decided to build a new one. A reasonable person might ask, Why? What’s it for? This presentation will suggest a new way to think about how the library can serve the university and its faculty and students in new and meaningful ways. It will also explore the factors that shaped the vision for the new building and suggest new uses for library spaces that may move this university ahead of its peers in terms of student learning and engagement.
The Academic Library in 2013: What's It For?
Grand Valley State University, Eberhard Center
Academic libraries are being shaped dramatically and quickly by the multiple and escalating pull of technologies, new social practices and evolving pedagogies. Collections that once were physical are now largely virtual. Behaviors that tended to be quiet and solitary are now often noisy and sociable. Research questions that used to be directed to a librarian at a reference desk may now be directed to Google or Wikipedia on a laptop in Starbucks. Despite the magnitude of change and the seeming diminution of the academic library’s traditional place in the university, Grand Valley decided to build a new one. A reasonable person might ask, Why? What’s it for? This presentation will suggest a new way to think about how the library can serve the university and its faculty and students in new and meaningful ways. It will also explore the factors that shaped the vision for the new building and suggest new uses for library spaces that may move this university ahead of its peers in terms of student learning and engagement.