The Davies Forum Digital Literacy class invaded the library last night and transformed the space between the Circulation and Reference desks into a reading fort with comfy chairs, library flip books, and their reading favorites along with an annotated list posted on the wall (See the list here), plus space where we’re invited to add our own favorites. Below are photos of parts of the installation.
Here’s Gleeson gleaner Kelci Baughman McDowell perusing a flip book.
There’s even a contest!
The fort provides a cozy place to read.
Class Professor David Silver took excellent pictures of the construction process including the image above.
Alas the fort fell sometime this morning! We’ve been assured that help is on the way. In the meantime here’s how it looks all vanquished. Kelci swears she had nothing to do with it.
NOON UPDATE: Hooray! The fort is back!
What are your favorite books? What do you love about the library? Or, what do you wish the library had? Write it at the display or in a comment right here.
Interesting idea! Will pass this on to my colleagues.
I think this is great. I like the idea of the library being a place where students actually want to hang out, rather than that place they have to go to research fir their final papers. One way to encourage this: no late fees on overdue books!! Just kidding (sort of). But seriously, more fun stuff like this would be awesome.
Thank you to the Davies Forum Digital Literacy class for being such library champions!
Yes, thank you for putting up this display! It’s great to have students involved in library programming.
thanks to David and Davies Forum students for the reading fort as well as the various comments in blogs & elsewhere about what you love about the library or wish the library offered.
but i am curious to know more . . . what does the library actually mean to you as students, as future professionals, as private individuals? what have you learned from the library and what will you take with you after you graduate from USF?
if becoming digitally literate & engaged in lifelong learning is an important goal of university life, then how did the library enable you to to engage effectively with information sources and information technology in the pursuit of your learning?
and, within that context, what could the library do or offer to help you learn or construct your understanding of a topic? how can the library become a true dynamic agent of learning?
Those are some excellent questions. I love libraries and I think they are really valuable. What have I learned from the library? I’ve learned about everything I’ve researched for classes or out of personal interest. To me, having access to a library means that when I have a question or want to read a book, I can get that information or resource, and I can get it for free (though Gleeson won’t be free for me for much longer as I’m graduating).
I don’t know if I would describe the library as a “dynamic agent of learning” – I guess I see it as a more passive resource. The library has enabled my educational engagement through the resources it offers, which I seek out. How can it become a true dynamic agent of learning? I’m going to think about that some more… This will be comment part 1, and I’ll write more later.
agreed, these are good questions.
the thing is, i wish i could appreciate the library more to its fullest, but i just realized that honestly a lot of the time i am there i feel like i am so stressed about getting something done on time that i don’t have time to kick back and enjoy what’s there. definitely after i graduate and have time on rainy days to come enjoy the library, browsing through thoughts and perspectives until i find something that intrigues me, (do i still get to come to the library as an alum? ah! i hope) i will be soooo happy enjoying a place that i can come to for all resources of knowledge. I am very appreciative of such a place. Better than Wikipedia- I guess because though maybe there is an equal amount of information in the library as on wikipedia (maybe not actually, who knows), the info in the library is in its raw, untouched form. books, manuscripts, pure. then the library proves its greatness further because wikipedia, and other non-raw info is IN the library too! The library is not IN wikipedia.
i will always live knowing that all information is to some extent findable, even if it’s a long journey to find it, and I think this has come with my experience at Gleeson. I think also my time at Gleeson has shown me a hint of the vast vast variety and amount of information out there.
The library has also shown me about the silence of other people doing work just as hard as I am. i guess this is why i like the library best at finals time. you look across the table at the person across from you, and see how they’re thinking or working just as hard as you are, and you chug on harder because you know: we’re in this together.
community, connection, awesome.
Thankyou to all the staff who are so friendly and helpful about educating how to use the library to its fullest
The library, for me, has become not so much about the place but the process. The library is the process of finding what you need, keeping things organized, catalogued and (most importantly) searchable. Sometimes, I like to think of my own blog as a library of sorts, a library of my thoughts at least. I don’t remember everything I’ve written (much like librarians haven’t read every book in the library [nor have students]) but the information is there, safe, waiting for you to find it. The opportunities that the library process opens (everything’s available to you always) is inspiring and encouraging. Like Lis said, everyone’s there, chugging along, working, searching, writing and reading. We’re all in this together, and the library is not only the venue, but the process, by which we learn.
The library has been my first and best introduction to meaningful searches for information. I ask myself the most important questions when I begin my searches at the library: what am I looking for? what do I want? how do I most effectively and succinctly express that? (important questions for research and life, I’d say).
The library does a great job for each of us, individual students. We can come in with our myriad of research topics, and all leave, books and information in hand and head. But what I’d like to see, and what I think is crucial to the library’s evolution as a digital resource, is the partnership not just of student/information, but of student/student. What if the library helped us not just to find books, but to find each other? What would this look like? Maybe a depository of finished student work–viewing the fruits of hours of labor. Maybe that’s more established peer-studying groups, which meet every wednesday at 2 (for example)? Maybe more classes holding sessions in the library? Maybe a library sponsored snack time? At first glance, these suggestions might seem antithetical to the peace and quiet most seek in the hallowed halls. But bringing people together, creating meaningful community, is a principle tenet of web 2.0 (I think), and if the library wants to get on board, we may need to rethink what it is a library does in the first place.
Thank you Amber, Kelly & Lis for your extremely thoughtful responses to my request to “dig a little deeper” and tell us what the library means to students, beyond the favourite books and the quiet corner on the 3rd floor. Thinking about what a library does and how the library does it are subjects of ongoing discussions, both within the profession and at the individual institutional level. How do we innovate, how can we transform the delivery of services or collaborate to create learning spaces that are relevant to today’s generation of students (which, BTW, range in age from 18 years old to 80+) are questions we are all asking ourselves. Comments from students such as yourselves are very helpful and welcome feedback.
And yes, as an alumnus you DO have access to to Gleeson Library | Geschke Center after graduation!