The Alvin Sherman Library opened its 2,500-square-foot Circle of Friends Collaborative Study Room on Oct. 22 to provide students with a space that facilitates group work.
The room, number 3078 on the third floor, is specifically designed for collaboration with ottomans, rolling desk chairs, desks of various sizes, banquets, — which are similar to small restaurant booths, and tools such as three large screen monitors and white boards. There is also a print station in the room, courtesy of the Office of Innovation and Information Technology.
Lydia Acosta, vice president for Information Services and university librarian, explained that the 23 study rooms that are currently available are open to thousands of students, but there wasn’t a special place for collaborative study, in which students work in groups to achieve a common goal. She noted that more and more professors are assigning group projects.
“You see today that learning and studying has become a much more social activity than it was once before, which was on the quiet side, and some people really need that quiet study space, but we wanted to have a space where students could collaborate, where they could work on problems together,” said Acosta.
The furnishings in the room are for groups of people, and groups can consist of two, four, six or more people, said Acosta. A lot of the furniture is on wheels so that different configurations can be made. There are enough seats for 70 to 75 people, depending on the configuration.
Three tables are connected to the wall because they’re wired. They have outlets that students can use to plug in their electronic devices, such as laptops and tablets. Although not all of the furniture is wheeled, most of the furniture is still easily moved.
“We bought furniture that lent itself to being comfortable and casual in a place that you’d want to come to and work with friends and fellow students,” said Acosta.
There are also three large screen monitors. One is located in the main room, and the others are within the separate study room, Room 3079, which must be reserved. This room is for groups of up to six people, and it can be reserved in the same manner that the library’s other rooms are reserved – either at the front desk of the library or on the library’s room reservation webpage.
Max Gallner, freshman computer science major, said he looks forward to using the room for collaborative projects.
“I think it’s a great idea. It really encourages the collaborative nature that we, as students, seem to be studying in these days. If you’re working on a project, I like that you can plug your computer in the TV screens and your entire group can see what you’re doing. I don’t want to say that I can’t wait for a project, but when it comes, I’ll be excited to try it,” said Gallner.
Acosta said the library always looks to get feedback from students to find out what their needs are and how to improve its services. She said study room space is always high-priority.
“Every time we do a survey of students, the number-one thing is ‘We need more places to study,'” she said. “Students requested study space, but the idea was my own.”
Acosta said it’s often very difficult to remodel a library. The collaborative study room was in a space that used to be used for technical services, but once the technical services staff relocated, the room was reengineered, producing a group study room.
Acosta said, “I walked in there, and I looked around and said, ‘This is it; this is a good and pleasant space for students to work in groups and be able to talk.'”
The room was funded by the Circle of Friends organization, which is committed to helping the library make improvements for the local community. Each year, the organization funds a project, and this year’s project was the collaborative study room.
Acosta said because the Circle of Friends supported this, the Alvin Sherman Library held a reception and dedication of the Circle of Friends Collaborative Study Room on Oct. 21.
Brad Williams, vice president of Student Affairs and dean of the College of Undergraduate Studies, attended the celebration and said he looks forward to students’ responses once they experience the room.
“If you hear what I hear, students are always looking for study space. This isn’t just a study space. This is so state of the art. It’s amazing. I can’t wait to see the response from students when they come in here. I really believe we have a 21st century library; this space is for the 21st century student because this is how students interact now,” said Williams.
Acosta said the room has some policies and rules, such as that no food or drinks are permitted in the room, individuals must be at least 18 or older to use the space and that the room is only for groups of people, not individuals.
“Because we have technology in there, we do not permit food and drink in the room,” she said. “We have to take care of what we have, and I intend to put more technology, not less. We’re envisioning this space to be for our students, and other students from other universities.”
There are cameras in the room, and if students require assistance, a phone is located on the wall that calls the circulation desk.
Acosta plans for more study rooms to be added in the library.
“But in the meantime, I think this is a really nice leap forward to provide this kind of space for students to work, and we’ll be interested in getting feedback and figuring out ways to improve it,” she said.
The Circle of Friends Collaborative Study Room is open during the same hours of the library.
For more information, call the circulation desk at 954-262-4601 or reference at 954-262-4613. To reserve a room online, visit sherman.library.nova.edu/rooms.
