Thanks, Mom and Dad!
Parents Fund Contributes Comfy New Furnishings
When students in the Wells Library curl up on a couch, interview for a job using new videoconferencing equipment, or check out an iPod, they may well have their parents to thank.
The IU Parents Fund awarded the IUB Libraries $74,560 to replace the worn furnishings in the Information Commons with higher-grade commercial furniture that promises a longer and more useful life.
“Students love the comfortable seating,” says Carolyn Walters, executive associate dean. “There’s never a time it’s not being used, and when we’re busy, it’s always the first to fill up.”
The Information Commons, located within the Herman B Wells Library, is open 24/7 and is a student magnet and campus showplace. About the size of six NCAA basketball courts, the main floor of the IC includes more than 250 individual and group workstations, wireless networking, library reference services and resources, technology consultants, an IT training classroom, and a multimedia production laboratory.
The Information Commons is operated jointly by two university units: the IUB Libraries and University Information Technology Services. Editors of the Indiana Daily Student called it a “one-stop, work-until-you-wilt megaplex of technology.”
Since its opening in 2003, the popularity of the Information Commons has exceeded expectations. And last year, students visited more than 1.7 million times. Its high use led to the opening of a second floor in 2005, the Information Commons 2, which provides 68 additional computers in a quiet environment. Students value the complementary spaces to meet in groups, to seek help from a librarian, or simply to plop down in a comfortable chair and study for a test.
This high use has taken its toll on the carpeting and upholstery. Already we’ve had to revise original design recommendations: after endless cycles of steam-cleaning the carpets (a challenge, indeed, when the space is open 24/7), we replaced the central track of carpet with marmoleum, a durable linoleum flooring, that better withstands the high traffic.
“The popularity of the Information Commons points to its success,” Walters says. “It’s everything we envisioned it to be, and more. It’s truly a model for other universities.”
Plans are well under way to refurbish the group study floor of the Wells Library west tower. The space, to be filled with new carrels and couches, is expected to open in January 2008.
Copyright © 2006 The Trustees of Indiana University