Violeta's Blog

Information and culture creation and sharing between individuals, groups and societies is reshaping due to the emergence of social networking, peer production, and non-market authors over the internet and by other technological means. The generation that has grown up with the internet values information consumption, sharing, creation and distribution in a way that directly contradicts with the traditional higher education assumptions about learning. Libraries need to understand that they need to serve as space and resource providers that foster social interaction in physical and virtual learning spaces (Somerville & Collins, 2008). When redesigning the library one needs to have in mind that the Net Generation values engagement expressed through interactive teamwork, that learning is a remarkable social process, which occurs because of social framework that fosters learning (Brown and Duguid, 2000). Redesigning the libraries as a learning commons will bring people together n...

Sunday, August 2, 2009 Princeton University opened a new Science Library - Peter B. Lewis Library, which combines collections of the Astrophysics, Biology, Chemistry, Geosciences and Math and Physics. The new library opened in the fall of 2008. As Patricia Gaspari-Bridges the Head of Science and Technology Libraries states the library was designed as a collaborative study space supporting interdisciplinary work in the sciences. The main reason behind the project was the need for additional physical space for faculty as well as for labs and classrooms in each of the science academic departments. The money for the project was donated by Peter B. Lewis who had previously worked with the architect Frank Gehry who was hired for this project. Princeton did not do a "needs assessment" for the project, but decided to work closely with the architect's team, as well as with the with focus groups of undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and with the librarians and sta...