Measuring the Success of a 21St Century Center for Learning
Presentation Type
Presentation (20 minutes)
Presentation Theme
Assess and evaluate spaces, services, technologies and programs
Start Date
11-8-2015 11:15 AM
End Date
11-8-2015 12:15 PM
Description
Short program description
Learn from architects and a library director how a large, suburban community college conducted a post-occupancy building assessment 18 months after opening a new library in August 2012. The new library, which focused on student success, won industry awards and was featured on the cover of two magazines. But how did it perform against the project goals? This session will analyze data and information gathered in the assessment.
Learning outcomes
Objective 1: Participants will identify at least 2 reasons for conducting a post-occupancy building assessment and list the steps in a post-occupancy program.
Objective 2: Participants will identify at least 2 techniques that can be used to gather information about how members of a college community use a new library building.
Objective 3: Participants will be able to identify at least 5 metrics that are important to assess and benchmark when planning a new library
Full program description
After many years of dreaming and five years of planning, a new library replaced a 45-year old building in August 2012 at a Anne Arundel Community College. Goals for the new student-focused building included:
• Use information commons and student success center models, along with input from students, faculty members, and administrators, to design a facility that would allow students learn in different ways,
• Create a pleasant and energizing environment for the college community, and
• Build a LEED-certified facility that would be sustainable into the future.
Because of its central location on campus and a desire to include green practices, the old library was fully renovated and incorporated into the new facility. Gate counts for the first semester were more than double that of the last full year in the old building.
With a strong culture of assessment in place, the college quickly agreed to a proposal from the project architects to conduct a comprehensive post-occupancy building assessment to measure whether the building project met its goals and add to our understanding about how the facility was being used. Architects spent 2 days observing and talking with patrons. They interviewed groups of students, faculty, and staff. They heard how students valued group study rooms and quiet spaces, and that faculty members felt a “sense of place” in the building. All college employees and students are currently completing surveys about use of the building and their satisfaction with it.
A comprehensive building assessment is one more technique in an institution’s toolbox. For the college it is serving as a way to both measure the success of a construction project and create a roadmap that will allow the library to adapt, innovate, and change in its journey to remain relevant to the college community long into the future. For the architects, the assessment serves as an instrument to measure how design can affect patron behavior and usage patterns within a space. The data collected feeds into a growing design database that informs library planners and architects about how to better create 21st century centers for learning that serve a changing student demographic.
Measuring the Success of a 21St Century Center for Learning
Short program description
Learn from architects and a library director how a large, suburban community college conducted a post-occupancy building assessment 18 months after opening a new library in August 2012. The new library, which focused on student success, won industry awards and was featured on the cover of two magazines. But how did it perform against the project goals? This session will analyze data and information gathered in the assessment.
Learning outcomes
Objective 1: Participants will identify at least 2 reasons for conducting a post-occupancy building assessment and list the steps in a post-occupancy program.
Objective 2: Participants will identify at least 2 techniques that can be used to gather information about how members of a college community use a new library building.
Objective 3: Participants will be able to identify at least 5 metrics that are important to assess and benchmark when planning a new library
Full program description
After many years of dreaming and five years of planning, a new library replaced a 45-year old building in August 2012 at a Anne Arundel Community College. Goals for the new student-focused building included:
• Use information commons and student success center models, along with input from students, faculty members, and administrators, to design a facility that would allow students learn in different ways,
• Create a pleasant and energizing environment for the college community, and
• Build a LEED-certified facility that would be sustainable into the future.
Because of its central location on campus and a desire to include green practices, the old library was fully renovated and incorporated into the new facility. Gate counts for the first semester were more than double that of the last full year in the old building.
With a strong culture of assessment in place, the college quickly agreed to a proposal from the project architects to conduct a comprehensive post-occupancy building assessment to measure whether the building project met its goals and add to our understanding about how the facility was being used. Architects spent 2 days observing and talking with patrons. They interviewed groups of students, faculty, and staff. They heard how students valued group study rooms and quiet spaces, and that faculty members felt a “sense of place” in the building. All college employees and students are currently completing surveys about use of the building and their satisfaction with it.
A comprehensive building assessment is one more technique in an institution’s toolbox. For the college it is serving as a way to both measure the success of a construction project and create a roadmap that will allow the library to adapt, innovate, and change in its journey to remain relevant to the college community long into the future. For the architects, the assessment serves as an instrument to measure how design can affect patron behavior and usage patterns within a space. The data collected feeds into a growing design database that informs library planners and architects about how to better create 21st century centers for learning that serve a changing student demographic.
