Wednesday, February 23, 2011

UMKC Renovation Nears Completion

Miller Nichols Library at U. of Missouri Kansas City was an early and successful Information Commons.  It opened in October, 2000.  It is now part of a re-designed multi-purpose complex that integrates the Library and the New Student Union.  Details can be found on the project's blog.

Monday, February 14, 2011

Yale Gets Ready for 1st Info Commons

The Yale Daily News reported last week on the plan to merge two departmental libraries and create the first "info commons" on the New Haven campus.

Highlights gleaned from the article:
  • 200,000 volumes from the Social Science Library and the Kline Science Library have been moved to a storage facility in Hamden, CT.
  • Kline Science Library will move into the Social Science Library while Kline is remodeled.  
  • Following renovation the two libraries and the Social Science Research ITS StatLab will move into the remodeled Kline Library, which will be renamed the Center for Science and Social Science Information.
  • The Social Science Library building will be demolished to make room for new residential colleges.
The merger is viewed as an opportunity to combine "lab technology, library volumes, and study and meeting spaces... interspersed throughout the new space to encourage cross-field collaboration.

Go to UPDATE: January 11, 2012

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Nike Honors Joe Paterno with $400K Gift to Support Penn State's Knowledge Commons

UPDATE (March 23, 2011) PSU projects put on hold Centre Daily Times of State College, PA reports that the Knowledge Commons expansion is one of several projects stalled by the budget crisis and the governor's proposed 50% cut to the Penn State subsidy.

Celebrating Joe Paterno's 400th victory as football coach, Nike will donate $400,000 toward the completion of the Tombros/McWhirter Knowledge Commons which has been in the works since 2008 when a Media Commons studio opened in Pattee Library.

According to the press release, "the Knowledge Commons will be a federation of services and repurposed physical spaces that will facilitate information discovery, collaborative learning, and knowledge building with a focus on undergraduates."


 The multifunctional Knowledge Commons will evolve over the next two years. See the floor plan and descriptions of the various services.

Please enter your alt text.

Facebook