Thanks again, Mom and Dad!

The Parents Fund also awarded the IU Bloomington Libraries $19,900 to provide students access to videoconferencing technology. By introducing this high-demand service not offered elsewhere on campus, we’ll give students the opportunity to conduct job interviews, chat with family members, or, for those representing student organizations, communicate with governing boards. Two rooms in the Wells Library and one in the Business/SPEA Information Commons will feature this service. Part of the Parents Fund contribution will also fund the purchase of portable video cameras and iPods—both all-time favorites—for loan to students.

Ay, there's the rub

Commercial-grade upholstery fabric can withstand about 250,000 “double rubs”—the surface friction caused when someone sits down and then gets up. (Heavy-duty residential fabric holds up to about 15,000.) Durability is an important factor when refurnishing a space as popular as the IC, which last year boasted the “hottest seat on campus,” where more students logged on to a computer than anywhere else.

Show and tell

The resounding success of the Information Commons makes the space a showplace for prospective students or peer institutions. We’ve hosted and impressed librarians and technologists from 37 universities or colleges from around the country (California, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Oregon, among others) and from as far away as Australia, Spain, Africa, Japan, and China.