New collaborative room in Birnbaum Library

The University is introducing a new high-tech space — including touch recognition and smart board technologies — into the Henry Birnbaum Library called The Collaborative Learning Room.

The Birnbaum Library will add this new space to its legacy which  already includes the “Library of the Future” award they received from the American Library Association for its Media Patch project in 2006.

The library is also listed by Bestcollegesonline.com as one of the Top 25 “Most Modern” Libraries in 2008.

The Collaborative Learning Room has been talked about for years and finally with funding and support from the University, it will open its doors on October 1.

The new addition will be a study room for group projects and presentations.
It will have multimedia production workstations, computers for individual work and Photoshop availability for digital work on both Macs and PCs.

Students can work in the room to build projects and have access to  materials they may need.

The facility boasts two conference rooms, one with smart board technology and another for video conferencing technology to facilitate communication with students in the Mortola Library on the PLV campus.

A smart board is an interactive white board connected with a projector. The board allows for flexible learning style because of its Touch Recognition feature.

This means information can be written with a marker, erased with a hand and moved around with a finger without switching modes or clicking a button.

These smart boards were created to help teachers concentrate more on teaching than switching through complex technology but with the ease of a chalkboard.

The main room is decorated with restaurant like booths that allow for the flow of group work that seem to be brainstorming ideas already.

The theme of this room is for and about the students. Work can be done in a supportive environment within the student body.

A computer station and technician assistants will be available to help students with any work or to rent out equipment.

Another  aspect of this room is its stock of laptops, voice recorders, cameras and flip camcorders that can be checked out. A student can walk into the room and check out a laptop, just as they would check out a book, with their student ID.

The library staff anticipates usage of the new facilities because they believe it will speak to the students. They wanted to give the student body an “area of flexibility with vibrant surroundings,” Mel Isaacson, Associate University Librarian, says.

The Birnbaum Library was first built in 1971 and then redone in 1991 in with a more traditional look.
There are designated quiet areas in the library and also group areas, but because it is such a large space, noise carries over and disturbs some students. To help reduce noise level, this new room will be the designated “talk friendly” environment.
“When we had the opportunity to use this room, which wasn’t being heavily used, taken up by periodicals that are now mostly electronic, we had the idea of having these learning commons start.
“We were seeing how students were working. So many students were working in groups now. It’s group study and there is a need for a room to collaborate where noise could be contained and we could build in a lot of the technology,” Isaacson says.

The new need for this large space and this room is a response to what students need in furthering their interactive education.

Moveable white boards will be available along with a print station. Any work that needs to be done can be completed inside with readily available technology and technical help.

Although this room will be used for studying and presentations, students can also come here to use the new lounge seating, with large armchairs to sit and relax between classes and talk with friends.