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NCSA LIBRARY WIKI

NCSA LIBRARY WIKI LEAVE FEEDBACK HERE:

Welcome to the library project wiki. We're going to use this space to keep you informed of developments in the library building process. We're also going to use it as a way to solicit feedback on specific issues as they arise. Specific questions concerning the design team and process may be directed to the university architect's office.

 

Library Architects and Consultants

Gwathmey-Siegel & Associates Architects http://www.gwathmey-siegel.com/

Jenkins-Peer Architects http://www.jenkinspeer.com/

Michaels Associates http://www.madcinc.com/

 

 

To post a comment, just click Edit Page and login using "pickle" as the invite key.

Please post comments below the most recent previous post.

Don't forget to click the SAVE button when you're done.

 

 

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LEAVE FEEDBACK HERE:

To post a comment, just click Edit Page. When prompted for a login, use "pickle" as the "invite key." Please post comments below the most recent previous post. Don't forget to click the SAVE button when you're done.

 

1. I'd "second" the comment that Henry Grillo left on the other wiki that it would be great if there was dedicated space for faculty "teaching and learning" activities in the new bldg.

 

2. This looks really good. You might even consider merging the two wikis--A Keely

 

3. Kudos to all responsible for bringing Gwathmey and Siegel aboard. This is a great thing for the campus. When finished, the library will be a great addition, but even before that, I hope the whole planning and construction process (2 years? 3?) can become a grand experience for the whole campus community. A great time for collaboration between faculty and administration, and an opportunity to think and talk about the meaning of a "campus" and its component pieces as places and symbols. --MIKE WAKEFORD (undergrad acad. faculty)

 

4. I am presently have a sculpture in an exhibition the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington, NC, a 42,000 square foot facility that was, interestingly enough, designed by Gwathmey Siegel & Associates. It's a very lovely space, and, since I know many NCSA faculty and students who take part in the Manteo program find themselves in the area for the summer, I encourage all of you to take the opportunity to visit the museum and see the space. Too, there are two wonderful shows up: 1. Art & Social Conscience: HOLOCAUST May 2 - October 19, 2008, in which I have a piece, a large wagon, "Arbeit Macht Frei" http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080424/ARTICLE/804240337/-1/xml and 2. Bob Trotman: Business as Usual May 23 – October 12, 2008, a scultor who makes really wonderful figurative wood carvings. So, to check out the space and the art: 3201 South 17th Street, Wilmington, NC 28412, 910.395.5999, 11am - 5pm, Tuesday--Sunday and 11:00 am - 9:00 pm Fridays closed Mondays. Cameron Art Museum admission is $8 for non-members and $5 for students with valid student identification card. http://cameronartmuseum.com/index.php --Greg Shelnutt, Visual Arts

 

5. I think that a deicated space for teaching and learning would be a "must have" for the campus library. Also, an area designated for art exhibits. I would also be interested to know about the interior design. Will there be pictures of past Chancellor's, founders of the school, students that have found their claim to fame?

 

6. When will the first draft of plans for what will/will not be included in the new building be released for review and comment by faculty and staff? Might there be a published schedule of when those interested will be able to meet w/ the architects and/or campus steering committee to comment and raise concerns?

 

7. Having perused the minutes from the initial round of meetings w/ the architects in April, here's a thought: Might the pervasive of language of "5" be replaced by a language of "7"? That is, the minutes seem to suggest that the library is being conceived of as an integrative force that can help facilitate collaborative work between the 5 primary arts schools. Great--surely all would concur and applaud. Aside from the rather demoralizing way that the language of "5" seems to disregard the HS and Undergraduate Academic Programs, the relative dearth of references to the academic programs in the record of these first meetings raises red flags. I am enthusiastic about the highminded ideals of cross-campus collaboration, but the reality is that the academic programs are already, and will likely continue to be, the primary and most constant sources of interdisciplinarity and integration on this campus; my strong sense is that it is academic courses where NCSA students are most regularly challenged to think across art forms. Hence, if the interest in these ideals of collaboration is genuine, their realization will depend, in part, on an evolving campus culture. A good place to start is to leave the language of 5 behind, and adopt the language of 7. Keep the academic programs at or near the center of the conversation, because they will inevitably be among the driving forces toward a more artistically and intellectually unified campus. On more practical matters: if, by chance, a less central location were the site selected for the library, then might some consideration be given to providing faculty carrel space in the library, perhaps w/ a locker where we could keep some books (rather than hauling them back to our offices--which would become less convenient if the library gets decentered). I don't suspect there'd be enormous demand for this, but some faculty would find it very useful. --Mike Wakeford

 

8. As a fundamental part of the institution and the education of both students and faculty members, the library should be somewhere in the center of campus. It should also contain the various "centers," such as writing and learning skills, media center, and teaching enrichment center.

 

9. I agree with Mr. Wakeford that the academic department needs to be strongly integrated into the process. Yes, the new library can be a great resource for all the schools and I think it will be great to have places for students to work, meet, and show of their art. However, I also do think that the building is a library, and that central purpose should not be lost. I also have to disagree with Chancellor Mauceri's assertion that the "Limits of the library are the limits of our imagination". It is a good mindset to have, true, but the budget for the library is not so huge that we (the campus community) can go hog wild. I must admit I'm a bit frightened that the library will be over designed and end up having too many features, and then when the money runs out in construction the new library will end up being less useful or only as useful as the current library. This has happened with almost all of the recent buildings on campus, and ends up being a fantastic disappointment for everybody involved. Look at the connector building, the new music building, and performance place and the commons renovation and addition, which were both held up for years. I'm not trying to be pessimistic or rain on anybody's parade, but I just want to make sure that the main goal is to create a library where there is space to put books and facilities for students to study and research. -- William Davis

 

10. "Behind every great University is a great Library". This was said by Tip O'Neill, July 9, 1988, ALA New Orleans, General Session (and probably by others before, but it’s the reference I could easily find on Google; now if I’d gone to our library…). All jesting aside, while there are unresolved issues and sentiments with NCSA now being "UNCSA," perhaps this -- the new library for the new "U"-niversity -- should be a major fundraising drive for Development and the campus as a whole. We must not only plan and construct a great building, but also make sure that we have the financial resources to fill it. As indicated from comments thus far, this structure could -- and should -- become the nexus for this institution's intellectual life. Yes, we should be pragmatic and reasonable, but this campus was not founded by reasonable people doing the rational thing: we were founded by those who found a way to fund great ideas. There are so many needs for intersection on this campus and this building could readily assist in meeting those needs. It is but one path, and not a solution. But what a path it could be. We have made the Faculty Endowed Scholarship a reality, and we should continue to support it. We should also – as a campus – put our resources behind building a truly great library, both inside and out. Let us, then, begin to fund our library not as it presently is, but as it could be, as it should be. –Greg Shelnutt

 

11. (the wiki page, when i found it this morning, looked crazy-as-heck; i think i fixed it w/out destroying anyone's post--hope that true!)

 

12. Greg Shelnutt's suggestion that the construction of the new library could be centerpiece of a fundraising effort is a good one. Advancement, of course, has a million-and-one things to do, but perhaps the library can be a great leverage point. I was sitting in the law library at WFU the other day--every piece of furniture there has a donor's plaque on it . . . It also seems like the perfect time to create a "Friends of the Library"-type of association in order to establish the library's needs as perpetual ones that will always require support. Oh, and by the way, if you want to see one of the cooler new library designs, see the recently unveiled design at U of Chicago http://www.uchicago.edu/features/20080512_library.shtml (the $25 million alumni donation didn't hurt, I suppose).

 

13 (I'm OK with that - I was born on the 13th). Three quick comments. First - in the world of "creating thinking," there is a technique commonly referred to as "brainstorming," where any and all ideas are sought. Although it often takes us to impractical solutions, it helps to put the more creative albeit less pragmatic into perspective. At this point in time, we need to look at all the possibilities for this space. That investigation may lead us to some realizations - the budget may be too small, the library may need to be only part of what we really need, a whole new mindset may need to be adopted to resolve some of the issues that the new library may not be able to resolve. At any rate, please continue to share ideas, to think “outside the box,” with the hope that the group entrusted with the job of culling out the essentials will be able to do just that. Second – the fundraising arm of the institution is so overburdened already, that the procurement of additional financial support for this project should not fall to them. How irresponsible of a university system to rely upon the kindness of strangers to provide a resource as essential as a library. OK – the furniture, maybe. But please, not the building. Third – Michael, with all due respect, there is a great deal of collaboration that occurs on this campus regularly that we take for granted and we rarely credit – and that does not rely upon the academic unit. It’s called production. Ask any D&P student or faculty member if they ever collaborate with the Schools of Dance, Drama, Music and Filmmaking. They can probably give you 30 or more examples of major collaborations between these entities each year. The performance component of NCSA is more appropriately the “…primary and most constant sources of interdisciplinarity and integration on this campus”! Of course, academics are an important part of the artists’ training, but, arguably, “doing it” has been the central focus of NCSA from its inception. But now I’m straying from the topic… - Henry Grillo

 

14: I take all of Henry's points above--they're good ones and good correctives to mine. My point on integration/interdisciplinarity was overdrawn. There's an important nugget (maybe a meganugget) that I'd defend, though—that is, there's a kind of integration/interdisciplinarity that depends on participating in the processes of reflection, both of the solitary and group varieties, argumentation, engagement w/ the broader world of information and ideas, and writing. The academic program doesn't have a monopoly on those offerings, but providing students structured time to engage in these processes is its raison d'etre. And to a large degree, providing a space for those processes is what a library most needs to do (though, I'm totally on board for unrestrained brainstorming as the pathway to the best building possible). And its because of that particular convergence of mission that I note the need for the academic programs' interests to be well-represented in the planning process (not to the exclusion of other voices, mind you). Next to last--as an advocate of interdisciplinarity and a believer in the social import of the arts in society, making a distinction between "doing it" on the one hand, and the reflective and contextualized thinking, deep reading, and writing processes on the other (i.e. between production and academics), doesn't resonate. I merely presume that we're all on the constant lookout for ways of "doing it" better, and better, and better. The "doing" v. "academic thinking" binary (which I doubt any of us embraces) has always served to marginalize the arts in American society and still does today in the curricular politics of schools. Here's to imagining a library that explodes that distinction entirely. Which, to go back to my main plea above, counsels us to adopt the language of 7 from here forward. // and really last--totally agree w/ not dreaming up new items on advancement's "to do" list. But let's be open to the likelihood that a new bldg, designed by a world-famous architect, which if done right will be one of the architectural gems of the region, can be a magnet for donor interest and funds. A powerful facilitator for money-raising, not a burden. cheers-mpw

 

15. Two web articles I'd suggest as we grapple with the question of what a library is and could/should be at NCSA (both from Transformations : Liberal Arts in the Digital Age):

What is a Library? and \"Where the Icky Books Are\" : Coming to Grips with Libraries in the Electronic Age. Enjoy! --Christia

 

16. enjoyed those links--thanks! And to boot, the essay by the Middlebury College librarian . . . that's a Gwathmey-Siegel library design.

 

17. BRAINSTORM: Independent of whether or not the new library building includes a cafe, there's the separate issue of whether food and drink will be allowed inside the library itself. Let's allow it, eh? Here's one recent article about the shift in this direction . . . http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/11/25/coffees_on_dusty_books_are_out_at_umass_library?mode=PF

 

18. Are you going to come clean up after Joe/Jane Student (or the absent minded Professor) dumps their latté? Books and scores, since they are organic (think paper, glue, cloth, etc.) are an appetizing food source for everything from silverfish, moths, mice, and crickets to cockroaches-- why introduce food into the equation? Infestation is an ugly thing! Not to mention that food/drink and electronic equipment don't mix... there could certainly be an area in the library where folks could eat and we already allow the use of sealed containers (like water bottles, etc.) for drinks. But then again, if we get rid of all the icky books... ;-) but I think even your Kindle would have a problem if you got the schmeer from your bagel all over it! --Christia

 

19. Obviously, food and drink present problems. it would just be interesting to ponder the cost/benefit equation. The obvious benefit would be IF it resulted in the library being seen as a welcoming study space, and IF it served well those students who are trying to squeeze a little extra study/work time into their packed schedules. there's no question that there'd be costs--the occasional spill, etc., and, as you note, the need for increased janitorial services. Maybe you're right--maybe it's prohibitive. At the very least, as you point out, there would be some resources that need to be more vigilantly and absolutely protected. i'm just raising this as something to think about now, while spaces are being planned, rather than later. B/c, I dunno, is it the wave of the future? I know from personal experience in a major research library that there was a pretty laissez-faire policy on food and drink, and UMass seems to be doing it, and I know over at Greensboro College they are totally food and drink friendly. Perhaps in the laptop age, we're evolving as a species and are learning to protect our electronics and valuables from spills and drops more effectively? One can hope. :) The preservationist component of a library mission obviously warns against food and drink. But the increasing identity of libraries as a crossroads of community life might mandate openness to things once considered anathema. If Krispy Kreme would like to purchase naming rights for the library for, say, 10 million dollars, wouldn't we all say, "donuts anyone?"

 

20. Do you really feel that having areas in the library where food is prohibited decreases the identity of a library as a crossroads of community life? Don't we already have the Hanes Student Commons building complete with a cafeteria and a snack bar to provide us all with eating establishments? Of course we all want to protect our electronics etc. but, as we all have probably experienced at one time or another in our lives, accidents happen. I'd really prefer that they not happen on one of our listening stations, computer terminals, microform reader, etc. etc etc. And I'm sure all of us have had the experience of sitting down at a table after someone a little less thoughtful and neat as ourselves has vacated it-- crumbs, etc. happen. Why give vermin more fodder? There's a place for food and drink in a library, I just seriously question whether that place is all over the place! --Christia

 

21. I can appreciate and even support the idea of having a separate study area within the library where food and drink are allowed. But that doesn't include the entire collection. Having a space to read current magazines while finishing off a drink is fine. Even a study area where students can have food and drink while they work on their projects and run back to grab reference materials has benefit. Finishing off a slice of pizza while looking for a Shakespeare monologue? I have to disagree with that being benefical. Who wants to be looking for reference pictures of costumes from the 1920s and find cheeto dust on them? We have high school students using the collection along with graduate students and faculty members. Such a span of age ranges means differences in awareness of a collection and how they impact it. We're not just a college library, we're a high school library as well. So what are other high school libraries doing about food and drink? --Kathryn Rowe

 

22. I don't think we're in disagreement, really. I'm just raising questions . . . fun stuff to think about. Though, of course it's not really about whether or not someone "wants" to find food on the pages of magazines, is it? Seems to me that all sorts of cultural institutions--libraries and museums, for example, etc., have been wrestling in recent years w/ the push-and-pull between the protective role they've historically occupied and the impulse to find ways to server larger and larger publics in more and more convenient ways. The food and drink issue is obviously one that's percolating out there in the wide-wide-world, so it seems worth entertaining rather than dismissing out of hand. Here's another take on it:

http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/0122/p12s01-lehl.html

I don't see much out there by way of empirical research on costs/benefits--only this article on public libraries; pretty paltry data sample data, but sort of interesting nonetheless. Enjoying the give-and-take; cheers! JSP.PDF

 

23. As a high school student who has been here all four years, I can safely say that; 1. high school students here know right from wrong and are not going to leave food on the books any more than a college student would, and; 2. most of the underclassmen won't even use the library, anyway. I know I didn't start using the library regularly until junior year. How is a student drinking coffee or eating a muffin in the library any worse than a student eating a full dinner while they read a book from the library, which I often do? I think it would be great to allow food in the library as long as there are many places for people to sit (or lie down) and study. Nobody's going to bring pizza in there while they study -- more than likely it's going to be a snack like a soda and a granola bar. Don't discredit high school students here by saying they're not responsible. If they're using the library at all it probably means they're more responsible than the average college student already. Also, I think it would be nice to have a place on campus to buy coffee that isn't awful. -WPD

 

24. I'd like to differ with a few points here. College students do use the library, we have had pizza in here and that granola bar and soda will do just as much damage to a book or keyboard as that full meal. While we want everyone to use the library and be comfortable and safe in here, it's simply not the best place for a snack or meal. Accidents do happen, drinks get spilled and books are ruined. Some of our materials are irreplaceable or so expensive we have a hard time replacing them on a limited budget. Please help us keep the collection available to everyone who wants to use it. The no food and drink rule isn't meant to be punitive or to spoil your fun. It's there for a reason. SKeely.

 

25. I didn't mean to say that underclass college students don't use the library, I meant to say that underclass high school students don't generally because their curriculum doesn't allow for it. I was simply disagreeing with your assessment that high school students are a bigger liability to the library. I don't necessarily think that food should be allowed in the entire library as I understand the potential problems with silverfish etc if food is allowed in the stacks, but I think it would be very nice to allow it in some parts of the building, such as certain designated study areas. If this library is to be designed as the social center of the campus than it should function as such. -WPD

 

26. "If this library is to be designed as the social center of the campus than it should function as such" <--  There you have hit on (perhaps) the crux of this particular discussion!  The library is the center of a campus, but the social center??  Isn't that why we have the Commons building?  BTW, I don't think anyone is saying that high school students are a "liability" I think the point that was being made is that we have an unusually wide range of ages and maturity levels using our library (and often the high school kids are among the most mature ;-)  ) --Christia

 

27. Indeed, that's the crux of the matter: how does NCSA want the new library to function? And I'd opine that whether or not the libray can be, or should be, realized as a "social center" is a wide open question, and one worth serious engagement. That's why we're gathered here in conversation, right? If I were intent on defending the "social center" aspiration, I'd immediately point in three directions for support:

• First, we want the library to be a building that reflects and anticipates the evolving character of knowledge-formation and learning. If there's one thing we've learned over the course of the 20th century, and intensely so in the internet era, knowledge is a social production and learning is a social endeavor. [mind you, that's no knock on the value and pleasure of solitary scholarship--i'm a me-and-a-book kind of guy, too] In short, this suggests to me that "social" isn't such a bad way of describing what the best 21st century libraries will be. Consider the growing Video Gaming discipline--it is revolutionizing the way we play, but also the way we, as social beings, LEARN and ORGANIZE ourselves into social bodies and communities. Put another way, the lines between work and play, study and sociability, are becoming less discernible in the connected, multitasking world. Let's make sure we take advantage of the fact that we're getting to build something new, and make it amenable to these new realities.
• Second, I'd point to the published record of the first planning meeting. It is loaded with explicitly "social" aspirations. (e.g. 1.2 Current campus lacks social spaces; 1.19 Social umbrella where the campus comes together; 1.6 Campus comes to life in the evening--can this be an evening space?; 1.12 Give students space where they can find each other; 2.10 Social spaces for groups; 2.30 schools "need a common space to gather"). So, this just makes the point that the "social" modifier isn't out of left field, but merely follows the lead of the planning documents.  --mpw

 

28.  Hmmmm.... Grand Theft Auto IV as a life paradigm LOL.   I was at the initial planning meeting and am very well aware of  where the social modifier came from.  And I questioned then, as I question now, the seeming (??) failure of the campus to provide (juding by the minutes) any social space and just how appropriate that "social" (in the sense of hanging out, playing hacky sack, shooting the shit, and  eating your meals in the stacks! (which is where this all started, eh?)) function is for a building that is supposed to be the intellectual heart and soul of our institution of higher learning (no matter how that learning is accomplished, now or in the future.)  Who knows, maybe we'll all be wearing visors that will allow us to create the reality we want, and we'll be able to have our latté, our cake, and be able to eat it anywhere we choose to in our own little worlds!  Good stuff, keep the discussion going.  --Christia

 

29. We're 100% on the same page--"intellectual heart and center of campus": that's the mission. Everything has to be dedicated to doing what it takes to facilitate that reality. But, perhaps, this will entail rupturing from the models of the past--architecturally, rules-wise, etc. Mostly around the edges. No visors needed.

 

30. For the interested, below is a set of links to an example of how architectural projects can help generate a democratic campus culture; i.e., how the process, itself, can start to make manifest the very ideals of integration and interdisciplinarity we all want the library to cultivate. This online forum is a nice start, by the way. Cheers to the library staff for making it available. Another of our UNC-system brethren has done something similar. A question: i wonder if our new campus architect might announce plans to host something similar to the charrette that NCSU hosted? Obviously, we're at a different place in the process, but it'd still be a good thing as the plans start becoming more concrete.  --mpw

• http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/exhibits/snohetta/inspiration.html

• https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/huntlibrary/forum/index.php
• http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/exhibits/snohetta/charrette.html

 

31. Fantastically relevant article by the historian Robert Darnton in the current NY Review of Books--"The Library in the New Age" . . . an excerpt: ". . . Students today still respect their libraries, but reading rooms are nearly empty on some campuses. In order to entice the students back, some librarians offer them armchairs for lounging and chatting, even drinks and snacks, never mind about the crumbs. Modern or postmodern students do most of their research at computers in their rooms. To them, knowledge comes online, not in libraries. They know that libraries could never contain it all within their walls, because information is endless, extending everywhere on the Internet, and to find it one needs a search engine, not a card catalog. But this, too, may be a grand illusion—or, to put it positively, there is something to be said for both visions, the library as a citadel and the Internet as open space. We have come to the problems posed by Google Book Search . . . " The full article is more wide-ranging than this . . . it's at http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21514

 

32. BRAINSTORM: In my first year here, I've often thought it'd be real nice (not fundable right now, but nice) if NCSA provided a program akin to the Campus Computing Initiative at Chapel Hill (which mandates laptop ownership, but subsidizes the purchase for those w/ financial need; http://cci.unc.edu/). Our film school already mandates laptops, right? Is it possible the new library could be built sans computer-lab space? The money saved by not having to maintain computer labs and equipment--could it be enough annually to fund the laptop program and the "virtual lab" system? An article in the Chronicle of Higher Ed notes that things are moving in this direction; http://chronicle.com/wiredcampus/article/3037/the-end-of-campus-computer-labs . Seems pretty green, too--since computer labs are a drain on energy use and air conditioning, etc.

 

33. Actually, we do not plan to have any computer labs in the new library.  We will have some electronic classrooms, but they will not be labs.  We are planning to offer distributed computing through a combination of wired ports & wireless access for laptops (we are looking into circulating some laptops for those who do not bring one into the library), and a few hard-wired computers in certain areas such as Reference. The idea is to have the entire building wireless/wired to allow access to electronic resources, reserves, the Web, etc. wherever anyone is in the building, rather than to designate a lab-type location where computing functions must occur.  We do plan to have a building-wide printing system that will allow students, faculty, and other patrons to print to specific copier/printer stations, using their OneCards or a similar "declining balance" card system.  This will eliminate the need for a multitude of printers and consolidate printing & copying activities.  Some of these activities may require the need for more specific authentication (for accessing the licensed databases, accessing digital reserves, etc.) than we currently require in the Library, but it will allow patrons to access digital resources throughout the Library and will facilitate the use of the entire building as a digital teaching, learning, and research center. -- V. Weavil

 

34. Well, I'll be. Sounds smart.

 

35. An interesting column from the Chronicle of Higher Education. WHAT DOES IT MEANT TO BUILD A BUILDING OF OUR TIME? http://chronicle.com/blogs/architecture/2161/guest-blogger-what-does-it-mean-to-build-a-building-of-our-own-time

And also, a reflection on the soon to be reopened Gwathmey/Siegel re-do of Yale's art building: http://chronicle.com/blogs/architecture/2138/art-architecture-building-renovations-approach-completion-at-yale-u

 

36.  An interesting article suggested by LeRoy Percy - http://www.nybooks.com/articles/21514  

 

37. I read the article that LeRoy suggested in the New York Review of Books last week (when my printed copy arrived at home!) and it is interesting (I see Mike picked up on the food reference, but we're not gonna go there, right?!? LOL )  Did it strike anyone else that he never discussed the commercial aspect of the google-ization of libraries on any level?  -crt

 

• 38. Microsofts's pullout on digitization only accentuates CRT's point, above. http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/05/30/microsoft --mpw

 

 38. Word's out that there's a show-and-tell of project plans today at 2:30? Is this something the larger campus community might be welcome at?

 

 39. I really don't have an answer to that question.  I guess you should talk to Stephen Atkinson in the university architect's office as he was in charge of setting the meeting up.  Sorry I can't be more specific.  Anyone else wanna take a stab at this??  -- crt

 

40. A study we all might find interesting has been released by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.  Here's an excerpt from the press release:

 

"IMLS sponsored this national study through a cooperative agreement with a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill research team led by José-Marie Griffiths and Donald W. King, recognized leaders in information research. Their findings are based on five surveys of 1,000 to 1,600 adults each that were conducted during 2006. The study found that:

• Libraries and museums are the most trusted sources of online information among adults of all ages, education levels, races, and ethnicities. Libraries and museums rank higher in trustworthiness than all other information sources including government, commercial, and private Web sites. The study shows that the public trust of museums and libraries migrates to the online environment.
• The explosive growth of information available in the “Information Age” actually whets Americans’ appetite for more information. People search for information in many places and since the use of one source leads to others, museums, public libraries, and the Internet complement each other in this information-rich environment.
• The Internet is not replacing in-person visits to libraries and museums and may actually increase onsite use of libraries and museums. There is a positive relationship between Internet use and in-person visits to museums and public libraries."

 

You can see the complete report at this link.  I look forward to reading the entire item, but I wanted to get this out there for all of us. -- crt

 

41. More food for thought-- Is Google making us stupid? from the Atlantic.

I've been trying to remember a quotation for a few days vis-a-vis this link... finally found it again: "We don't stop with asking what a tool does. We ask about what kind of people we become when we use it." Source

--crt (forgot to sign that one, sorry)

 

42. What's Google?

 

43. . . . . ok, I jest. I jest. More seriously, a request has been submitted to the campus architect that faculty be formally notified of future presentations by the design and planning team. Thus far, no response has been forthcoming. This forum (this wiki), would be a good place for him or other campus leaders to keep interested members of the campus community apprised of such things. --mpw

 

44. Isn't that a song by Cole Porter?  "What is this thing, called google?..."  I think that's a good idea about faculty notification-- I believe that the chair of the Faculty Council is receiving notification about the meetings/activities perhaps that might be another way for information to be dissiminated to the facutly that's here over the summer.  Just a thought (since we (at the library) really don't have anything to do with the meeting agenda.) -- crt

 

45. A few notes from the Chronicle about LEED-certified campus buildings. I think there has already been some mention of checking out Furman's new library building as a model, right? http://chronicle.com/blogs/architecture/2201/good-as-gold-new-leed-gold-buildings-at-universities // I love the student compost project at Vandy. --mpw

 

46. A nice review of Gwathmey's re-do on Yale's Art and Architecture Bldg. http://www.nysun.com/arts/revivifying-yales-brutalist-pile/80261/ -mpw

 

47. Green roofs at Harvard and Sidwell Friends. Next stop: Winston-Salem. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&refer=muse&sid=a7Fl7ZR5U6gg

 

48. While cleaning out some (virtual) files the other day I found this quotation from Anne Lamotte.  Thought I'd share, as it's very inspriational and aspirational! --crt

"In a library, you could find miracles and truth and you might find something that would make you laugh so hard that you get shushed, in the friendliest way. There was sanctuary in a library, there is sanctuary now, from the war, from the storms of our family and our own anxious minds. Libraries are like the mountain, or the meadows behind the goat lady's house: sacred space."

 

--Anne Lamott from Salon.com 28 March 2003

49.  Interested faculty and staff are invited to an open forum concerning plans for the new library on Tuesdayl, July 15, at 1:45 in the Welcome Center Presentation Room.

 

50. I know, I know ... old topic, but . . . "news flash" on the front page of WFU's ZSR library is "food and drink now allowed throughout the library." Regardless of all the good reasons for the policies of yesteryear, this is the future . . . Surely we won't cede the avant garde position to WFU. ;)

 

51. They can have it.  I'm sure they can afford to replace damaged equipment, books, scores, etc.  I know there is an element of good natured ribbing involved in this, but for the life of me I do NOT understand why not allowing food in certain areas of the library makes us "old fashioned" and not of the "future."  We have such bigger fish to fry (but not IN the library!) can we PLEASE give this a break? --crt (who admits she's really tired this morning) 

 

52. Agreed, I'm totally anti-fishfrying in the library. :) OK, it's the last I'll say of it. And, of course, librarians should get to make library policy. Period. . . . But, just one last note on this: imho, it is always worth asking why a trend, any trend, is becoming a trend. Asking the question--pushing toward a real answer . . . ain't that sort of in the spirit of a library? And there's simply no question that libraries are trending in this direction. Honestly, I doubt most do it based on a "we can afford to replace destroyed/damaged materials" basis. Rather, it is part of an ongoing reconceptualization of the library institution as a type and I think its based on the reality that in a networked, information society, people are increasingly accustomed to moving fluidly through various stages of the day and letting one activity bleed together with the next one. Increasingly, this is what one expects from the institutions that serve them. Libraries have multiple obligations. One very sacred one is to protect the collection. Another is to serve patrons in the best way possible, and in a way that adapts to a changing world. That adaptive quality is essential, b/c w/out it, a library, as an institutional type, sees its relevance diminished and a drop in patronage. As a faculty member, I'll likely push on such issues from time to time b/c I want students here to flock to the library, to love the new library, and to be champions of libraries well beyond their time at UNCSA. Of course that hope doesn't rise or fall on this particular policy issue, but openness to functions and policies once thought unthinkable for a library will, unquestionably, be essential.  As always, I enjoy the give and take. cheers,mpw

 

53. I'd be willing to wager a fish sandwich that fiscal considerations (and other "costs")  were a part of deliberations-- and if they weren't that a pretty irresponsible way to set policy.  Again, you seem to continually miss the FACT that no one is saying that there will be NO FOOD ANYWHERE IN THE LIBRARY.  Wake chose to allow food all over their library-- bully for them.  There is nothing wrong with saying you may gather and eat in the lobby, in the cafe on a possible green roof terrace, etc. etc. etc. but you're not going to do it over our listening stations.  Now, are you honestly saying that if we don't allow food in every corner of the library our students won't use it?  (I don't think you are, but one could argue... ;) )  We serve our patrons best by having funtional equipment and materials free of food damamge in an inviting atmosphere where they can do their learning/exploring/collaborating, etc..  And they are more than welcome to enjoy their snacks in the comfort of the cafe, and the other areas of the building where food will be allowed.  I don't want to read intent into your postings, as that's a tricky thing to suss out online, but I sure hope that you're not setting up the professional staff of the library as being closeminded defenders of the "policies of yesteryear."  It's not fair and I must say, I do feel a bit like our collective experience is being dissmissed.  I've seen a lot of things in the 20 years I've been working in libraries, and I can say for myself that change (and openess to change) has been a constant.  Please be careful when you use such charged language.

It's wonderful to have such interest and I certainly welcome it, and look forward to it as we move forward to building a great library for the School.   Have a great weekend, crt

 

54. I totally hear you, crt, and appreciate each of the points you make above. The banter's good. This whole campus would benefit from a richer public culture of such back n' forths. As various recent episodes on the campus have illustrated, there's a walkin'-on-eggshells vibe born of a lack of open, public communication. --mpw

 

55. Did the minutes from the last meeting ever get sent out to the campus community?

 

 

 

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