Graduating Student Appreciation

Today we wished our graduating seniors happiness and good luck as they are moving on with they lives and careers. We asked each of the twelve graduating student workers to pick out a book that meant something to thew. We then placed a bookplate in it with their name.







John H. Pollitz


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WAAL Keynote - Brian Matthews

On Wednesday morning, Brian Matthews, who is the User Experience Librarian at Georgia Tech and soon to be of UC Santa Barbara, spoke to the group about his experience on bringing innovative services to the Georgia Tech libraries. I liked the idea that their mission was to design the "premier group study area on campus". It reminded me of the Pike Fish Market deciding to be a world famous fish market and how they decided to accomplish that goal. Here were the ideas that had resonance for me.

• Furniture on wheels so students could control their space; including movable walls and whiteboards. This seems to be a current design theme that we will need to remember as we buy any new furniture.
• They designed group work tables not just study rooms. This taps into the need to see and be seen while still getting work done. Bryan Vogh is already working on how we can create these types of work areas on the first floor of McIntyre Library. I think that we can use our flip-chart and map of the first floor to let students decide where we site the group workstations.
  
• They used Wimba software to deliver social web events to students on a current topic, ideas or issues instead of holding drop-in instruction sessions. It seemed like an innovative way to deliver information literacy in a non-class based manner.
• At Georgia Tech they promote class projects that use the library as a case study much like we are currently doing with Dr. Sutton's marketing class.
• Matthews mentioned how he discovered how immersing himself in the activities of the library led to new insights. While his office was being renovated for three months he moved his workspace out into the library with the students. I'm thinking this might be a great way for me to get out onto the floors for a couple of hours per week instead of being cooped up in my office.

WAAL Ideas 1

I arrived today in time for the first session by librarians from UW Stevens Point. Here are the ideas I found interesting.

• They have used a lot of moveable furniture in their public areas.

• They have a couple of rooms for presentation practice rooms. Our students have been asking for this. We need to set this up.

• In their coffee bar they have kiosk computers around their architectural pillars. It seems like a good way to deal with our pillars and answer the student's requests for quick search and print stations.

• They also have big screens that show computer availability on all their floors. This seems like something we could use since we have computers on all of our floors.

Jp



John H. Pollitz

Director of Libraries

UW Eau Claire

Eau Claire WI

715-836-4827

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McIntyre Library, that "foxy older woman"

Yesterday the latest issue of Volume One came out with an article that mentions McIntyre Library in the most delightful way. Online editor, Mike Paulus, offers up a paean to libraries in general and local libraries in particular. He remembers the time he spent in McIntyre Library as a student at UW-Eau Claire by describing the library as a "foxy older woman". I hadn't thought of this place like that but like how he talks about "her". I particularly enjoyed his description of long nigths studying in the library that he described as, "... usually ending up far more confused than when I started. You seemed amused by this, you clever minx, you. but you always gave me the answers I needed." There's more. This was a fun read and a wonderful description of the role libraries play in people's lives.