Wisconsin Union Blend

And now you can.

I didn’t get many takers on the suggestion of a road trip, but Susan Gibbons has given me permission to share the photos she took of the new Gleason Library on the University of Rochester campus. Anybody interested in new learning spaces and how students can play a vital role in shaping these spaces should check this out. In some of the photos you’ll see the student drawings/conceptualizations (on stands) that informed the design of the space.

Susan Gibbons from the University of Rochester challenges us to get to know our NetGen students. At Rochester, the libraries hired an anthropologist (Nancy Foster) to do ethnographic research to help guide decisions about how to improve its institutional repository. Foster stayed busy by doing similar work with the many different “tribes” (Gibbons’ word) of the campus — faculty, graduate students and, most notably, undergrads.

Through various methodolgies including photo elicitation exercises, mapping diaries, and design workshops, Gibbons and Foster gathered a ton of student input for the development of an ideal learning space.

They outline their work in creating a student-centered academic library on the campus. The report can be found at http://www.tiny.cc/GzthX. (Note: I LOVE a good tiny url!)

It was a really inspiring presentation and I hope I get a chance to see this space. Anybody want to take a ride to Rochester?