- Email: [email protected]
Challenges in the Commons
The Journal of Academic Librarianship 41 (2015) 855–857
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
The Journal of Academic Librarianship
CASE STUDIES
Challenges in the Commons Frederick Barnhart a, Paul Voelker b a b
Library Services and Collections, University Libraries, Loyola University Chicago, USA Klarchek Information Commons, University Libraries, Loyola University Chicago, USA
INTRODUCTION Lakeside University is a private, residential university located in the heart of a large metropolitan area. Since its 19th century founding, Lakeside has grown into a research university with an enrollment of 15,000 students, including 5000 graduate students and 10,000 undergraduates. Students are served by more than 4000 faculty and staff members, and over 80 different undergraduate majors and 140 graduate and professional programs are offered. Lakeside's University Libraries strive to meet the needs of this large and diverse student body and faculty. The Lakeside University Information Commons opened to a great deal of fanfare six years ago and has won wide acclaim for both its architecture and its attention to sustainability. The new IC marked the University's commitment to buildings that are green, LEED certified and part of a larger more attractive campus plan. The IC is attached to the original 19th century library by a lounge area which includes a café, tables, and a variety of vending machines. The building consists of four floors, with three floors connected by stairs and the fourth which can only be reached by elevator. Floors one through three include a variety of student study and workspaces such as group study rooms, six classrooms, computer workstations (both PC and Mac), a quiet reading room, and two service desks. The fourth floor (top floor) of the building is a multi-purpose room that has a striking view of the city's downtown on the one side and a view of the redesigned campus on the other. Architecturally, the building is attractive, cutting edge and is frequently toured by visiting groups of architects, librarians, and administrators, in addition to prospective students and their parents. More than one parent has stated bluntly, “the beautiful new library is why we decided to come here.” After six years of successful operation, Lakeside University's Information Commons is entering a new phase that focuses more upon the refinement of its spaces, services, and programs rather than their creation and establishment. The Information Commons staff at Lakeside faces the challenge of addressing key issues, questions, and tensions that have developed concerning the nature of the Commons and the information and learning it provides. Three central challenges facing the IC involve: (1) perception and integration: the challenge of addressing how its spaces and services are perceived by students and faculty and integrated into the academic library as a whole; (2) community: the
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (F. Barnhart), [email protected] (P. Voelker).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2015.10.003 0099-1333/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
challenge of maintaining the ideal of open access for the broader community while meeting the needs of a specific academic community; (3) balancing collaboration and contemplation: the challenge of balancing social and collaborative learning spaces with contemplative and individual ones. PERCEPTION AND INTEGRATION The Information Commons emerged from the academic library community in an attempt to bring information and technology services under one roof to provide a “one-stop shopping” experience for students and faculty, but important questions remain about the perception of the Information Commons and its integration with the rest of the academic library. “This is Lakeside University's Information Commons, it has won awards as a library, but it's actually not a library, it's like a large study space and computer lab.” This statement, made by an enthusiastic but not entirely informed student tour guide, reveals a perception that is not entirely uncommon, that the Information Commons is just a gigantic study space or computer lab. Study spaces and computers are central features of an Information Commons, so this perception is not entirely false, but it is of concern, as it fails to capture the range of services, spaces, and programs offered at Lakeside's Information Commons. An important concern of the Information Commons staff is promoting awareness of the range of services offered in its spaces. Several steps have been taken to promote such awareness. The Information Commons staff has worked with the library's PR Committee to create directories and signage to clearly direct patrons to services throughout the building and to promote the many workshops and programs taking place in the Information Commons. Further, there are no permanent collections of books within the Information Commons. Given the natural association patrons draw between libraries and books, the staff of the libraries decided to display several small pop-up collections in the Information Commons each year. The simple display of a small collection of books helps to solidify the connection between the Information Commons and the library. In addition to technology support and a digital media “circulation desk,” the IC also includes a variety of academic support services including reference and research help, statistics support, writing center, tutoring, and academic advising. While patrons are sometimes unaware of the range of services offered at the Information Commons, the student workers at the IC also struggle to master the range of services, resources, and spaces available in the Commons, not to mention the library adjacent. Students staff
856
F. Barnhart, P. Voelker / The Journal of Academic Librarianship 41 (2015) 855–857
service desks where they must learn skills and software specific to that area, whether it involves reference and research assistance, digital media consulting, or overseeing visitor access. The full-time public services staff faces the challenge of training students with these location specific skills while at the same time providing them with a thorough understanding of the other services provided by the Information Commons/libraries, so that they can refer patrons appropriately. In an effort to improve referrals between various services in the IC and from the Library to the IC and vice versa, library administration has instituted a system of cross-training between the various service departments, including Circulation Services, Reference Services, and IC Services. Patrons still receive the occasional misinformation from the service desks, but for the most part it has helped to allow students to take advantage of all the services available in the IC. Now the IC has approached the Information Technology service point, the Digital Media Lab, and asked if they would like to include their staff in the cross-training. The DML manager is not as enthusiastic, though, and notes that while it sounds nice in theory, the training procedures are very different for both groups and doesn't think it will make much of an impact on student service. The Director of the IC sees great potential if all of the service desks in the IC had a stronger understanding of each other's services and resources, and could make better referrals, especially between the DML and the Library/IC services.
COMMUNITY A focus on a community of users is at the heart of an Information Commons model. How can the ideal of open access for the broader community be addressed while meeting the needs of a specific academic community? Community and open access are important ideals of librarians, and these ideals are particularly a point of focus within an Information Commons. While the primary community being served is the faculty, students, and staff of Lakeside University, the library staff also seeks to provide access to the broader urban community in which it is located. Lakeside University also has a strong commitment to social justice and continues to build a positive relationship with the broader community. As part of this commitment, the Information Commons offers access not only to Lakeside University alumni but to community members as well. Alumni access privileges are fairly extensive and are managed in cooperation with the Alumni Services Department. The community access program, however, stands apart from any other program on campus and adds another layer of complexity to managing the IC and its services. Ensuring student security and safety is of central importance to the staff at the Lakeside University. The IC entrance is also the primary entrance for the Library, and it uses an electronic gate with card readers to control access. Members of the University community have ID cards which allow access into campus buildings. Alumni and community members are required to check in at the front desk of the Information Commons and receive a guest badge which must be worn while in the facilities. Maintaining the guest access program requires investment in visitor access software and specially designated computer workstations. Most significantly, staffing is required to facilitate the entire guest access process. Because the IC is primarily part of an academic library, community guest access is limited to 8 am–5 pm, Monday through Saturday; and access to community members is restricted during crucial times such as final exams. Problems are rare, but opening access to the broader community involves additional issues such as the amount of time spent helping guests, explaining access policies, and policing the type of content being viewed on workstations. Between 14,000 and 15,000 alumni and community guests visit the Information Commons each year, so the visitor access program has been very successful. However, the ongoing success of the program depends upon a substantial investment of resources and the need to continually revise procedures and policies
that balance the needs of the broader community with the needs of a specific academic community. The already popular Information Commons became even more popular with the newly remodeled 4th floor space which includes an outdoor patio overlooking the city skyline, space for 150 people, and a catering kitchen for events. The IC assumed responsibility for coordinating and scheduling the space, and was charged with giving priority to academic events, although the exact definition of academic has been left up to the Library. The Director of the IC and library administration worked closely with facilities, catering, campus security and other groups to establish the guidelines for use of the multi-purpose room by the University community. With the growing demand for the space, and some groups attempting to schedule the space more than a year in advance, the Library is investigating ways to streamline the scheduling process for the community and still assure best use of the space for academic events. Many student groups, including fraternities, sororities, and student government are eager to use the space for their events as well, although they balk at some of the rules governing use of the space. The University's Event Services department has also identified the space as a perfect location for wedding receptions, or other events which are sources of both income and community goodwill for the University. As a recent example of scheduling issues, Prof. Ceres scheduled the space for a weekend six months from now to hold a weekend conference for an international group of astronomy scholars, of which she is the current president. Just yesterday the Director of the IC learned that the daughter of a potential donor, who is currently being courted by the Institution, has also expressed a desire to use the space on the same weekend for her wedding reception. Fairness would dictate first come first served, and other couples have been told that the space cannot be used for wedding receptions, but the Library also wants to be a team player and help the University to achieve its goals even if it means making an exception. A further complication is that the IC is open for abbreviated hours during that particular weekend because it is at the beginning of a semester break. Usually IC staff would be asked to help out by shifting their schedules to work the additional hours, but the usual “volunteers” are not available that weekend. Human Resources has also indicated some concern about the overtime pay which the occasional extended weekend hours generate. Staffing that weekend is important because the multi-purpose room is only accessible by entering through the IC and regardless of which event happens in the IC that weekend, it is necessary to keep the attendees from spreading out from the 4th floor MPR to the other floors of the IC. The Digital Media Lab has expressed concerns that some of the specialized equipment and workstations in the public areas will not be secure and might be damaged by guests. Catering Services indicated that they will provide security for the wedding reception, but previous experience has suggested that building security is not a high priority compared to the other demands of these types of events. Luckily the decision about staffing can be postponed for a few months, but unfortunately the decision about which event to allow in the space needs to be made within 48 h. One member of the community who also makes frequent, often daily, use of the IC is Mr. Sagan, who also happens to be an alumnus of the University. In addition to the IC Mr. Sagan attends many other University events and always makes sure that the President, Provost, and anyone else nearby knows that he is a proud alum. While not always a welcome addition to events, Mr. Sagan is tolerated because he lives in the neighborhood, contributes to the local weekly paper, and seems relatively harmless. Recently, however, he has taken to dragging a large rolling suitcase behind him when he enters the building, spreading out papers around “his workstation,” and talking (to himself?) while he writes what he claims to be his unfinished dissertation. Given that he is not familiar with online research and office applications he frequently asks for help from nearby students, student
F. Barnhart, P. Voelker / The Journal of Academic Librarianship 41 (2015) 855–857
workers, staff, or anyone that he can find to help him. Knowing that something needed to be done the Director of the IC asked Mr. Sagan not to “bother” the students around him, and to ask for help at a service point, but only a few times a day. The Director also suggested that he limit the amount of space he is using for his many papers. Within a few days the Director received a letter from Mr. Sagan, angrily remarking on the injustice of the institution taking his money for his B.A., M.A., and PhD course work, but now denying him services. Mr. Sagan also copied a number of Loyola offices, including the Library Administration, the Director of Alumni Services, the Provost and the President with his complaint that the University was happy to take his money, but now is kicking him out the door. As the Director of the IC is putting down the letter he sees that he is copied on an e-mail from the Director of Alumni Services to the Dean of Libraries requesting an explanation of why the Library is not helping an alumnus who is finishing his degree.. BALANCING COLLABORATION AND CONTEMPLATION Collaboration is also an important focus within the Information Commons. In terms of its learning spaces, many of Lakeside's spaces were designed with the ideal of collaborative and social study in mind. These spaces have been very successful, but students also desire individual, silent, and contemplative areas for study. How can balance be found between social and collaborative spaces and silent, individual, contemplative spaces within the same building? Collaboration is a word frequently associated with the Information Commons. A majority of learning spaces in the Lakeside Information Commons are geared toward collaboration. Two floors and 28 group study rooms in the Information Commons are geared toward collaborative study, and a lot of socialization between students also occurs on these floors. While these collaborative learning spaces receive heavy usage, students have increasingly expressed the need for silent, individual study areas. After six years of operation, the Lakeside Library conducted a survey of its students regarding the Information Commons. Along with additional outlets, the students most requested silent study spaces and even study carrels.
857
The question of how to facilitate silent, individual, contemplative study in a building largely designed for collaboration is an interesting one. The third floor of the Information Commons has always been designated as a silent floor, but its initial design with group study rooms, large open spaces and two-person study tables also lends itself to some of the same collaboration and socialization as the first two floors of the building. The designation of silent floor is usually respected by most students, but in the late evening or during especially busy times of year the floor's designation is insufficient. The IC staff have made some changes in floor configuration, such as table dividers, sound baffling on the group study rooms, and repositioning furniture to make conversation less inviting, but it is not always successful. One of the challenges to maintaining the study environment on the quiet floor has been working with supervisors and student employees about how to approach students when they are talking too loudly or making noise. For the most part students are embarrassed and immediately become quieter, but in some instances the students become belligerent and refuse to either be quiet or leave the floor. In these instances the supervisor is able to contact Campus Security for backup, or if the student's identity is known, contact the Student Disciplinary Board. Both actions have potentially negative consequences, though, both for the student and for the IC, since it can cause the incident to snowball. 1. How can a library best promote the range of services it offers in its information commons? 2. How can staff be trained so that they are aware of the entire range of services and spaces offered in their information commons/academic library? 3. Should an academic library offer access to the broader community? If so, how can the ideal of open access for the broader community be balanced with the needs of a specific academic community? 4. How might academic libraries and public libraries in a community work together to promote services for all members of the community? 5. How can balance be found between social/collaborative and individual/contemplative study and learning spaces in the same building? How might these study and learning spaces be assessed?
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
The Journal of Academic Librarianship
CASE STUDIES
Challenges in the Commons Frederick Barnhart a, Paul Voelker b a b
Library Services and Collections, University Libraries, Loyola University Chicago, USA Klarchek Information Commons, University Libraries, Loyola University Chicago, USA
INTRODUCTION Lakeside University is a private, residential university located in the heart of a large metropolitan area. Since its 19th century founding, Lakeside has grown into a research university with an enrollment of 15,000 students, including 5000 graduate students and 10,000 undergraduates. Students are served by more than 4000 faculty and staff members, and over 80 different undergraduate majors and 140 graduate and professional programs are offered. Lakeside's University Libraries strive to meet the needs of this large and diverse student body and faculty. The Lakeside University Information Commons opened to a great deal of fanfare six years ago and has won wide acclaim for both its architecture and its attention to sustainability. The new IC marked the University's commitment to buildings that are green, LEED certified and part of a larger more attractive campus plan. The IC is attached to the original 19th century library by a lounge area which includes a café, tables, and a variety of vending machines. The building consists of four floors, with three floors connected by stairs and the fourth which can only be reached by elevator. Floors one through three include a variety of student study and workspaces such as group study rooms, six classrooms, computer workstations (both PC and Mac), a quiet reading room, and two service desks. The fourth floor (top floor) of the building is a multi-purpose room that has a striking view of the city's downtown on the one side and a view of the redesigned campus on the other. Architecturally, the building is attractive, cutting edge and is frequently toured by visiting groups of architects, librarians, and administrators, in addition to prospective students and their parents. More than one parent has stated bluntly, “the beautiful new library is why we decided to come here.” After six years of successful operation, Lakeside University's Information Commons is entering a new phase that focuses more upon the refinement of its spaces, services, and programs rather than their creation and establishment. The Information Commons staff at Lakeside faces the challenge of addressing key issues, questions, and tensions that have developed concerning the nature of the Commons and the information and learning it provides. Three central challenges facing the IC involve: (1) perception and integration: the challenge of addressing how its spaces and services are perceived by students and faculty and integrated into the academic library as a whole; (2) community: the
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (F. Barnhart), [email protected] (P. Voelker).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2015.10.003 0099-1333/© 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
challenge of maintaining the ideal of open access for the broader community while meeting the needs of a specific academic community; (3) balancing collaboration and contemplation: the challenge of balancing social and collaborative learning spaces with contemplative and individual ones. PERCEPTION AND INTEGRATION The Information Commons emerged from the academic library community in an attempt to bring information and technology services under one roof to provide a “one-stop shopping” experience for students and faculty, but important questions remain about the perception of the Information Commons and its integration with the rest of the academic library. “This is Lakeside University's Information Commons, it has won awards as a library, but it's actually not a library, it's like a large study space and computer lab.” This statement, made by an enthusiastic but not entirely informed student tour guide, reveals a perception that is not entirely uncommon, that the Information Commons is just a gigantic study space or computer lab. Study spaces and computers are central features of an Information Commons, so this perception is not entirely false, but it is of concern, as it fails to capture the range of services, spaces, and programs offered at Lakeside's Information Commons. An important concern of the Information Commons staff is promoting awareness of the range of services offered in its spaces. Several steps have been taken to promote such awareness. The Information Commons staff has worked with the library's PR Committee to create directories and signage to clearly direct patrons to services throughout the building and to promote the many workshops and programs taking place in the Information Commons. Further, there are no permanent collections of books within the Information Commons. Given the natural association patrons draw between libraries and books, the staff of the libraries decided to display several small pop-up collections in the Information Commons each year. The simple display of a small collection of books helps to solidify the connection between the Information Commons and the library. In addition to technology support and a digital media “circulation desk,” the IC also includes a variety of academic support services including reference and research help, statistics support, writing center, tutoring, and academic advising. While patrons are sometimes unaware of the range of services offered at the Information Commons, the student workers at the IC also struggle to master the range of services, resources, and spaces available in the Commons, not to mention the library adjacent. Students staff
856
F. Barnhart, P. Voelker / The Journal of Academic Librarianship 41 (2015) 855–857
service desks where they must learn skills and software specific to that area, whether it involves reference and research assistance, digital media consulting, or overseeing visitor access. The full-time public services staff faces the challenge of training students with these location specific skills while at the same time providing them with a thorough understanding of the other services provided by the Information Commons/libraries, so that they can refer patrons appropriately. In an effort to improve referrals between various services in the IC and from the Library to the IC and vice versa, library administration has instituted a system of cross-training between the various service departments, including Circulation Services, Reference Services, and IC Services. Patrons still receive the occasional misinformation from the service desks, but for the most part it has helped to allow students to take advantage of all the services available in the IC. Now the IC has approached the Information Technology service point, the Digital Media Lab, and asked if they would like to include their staff in the cross-training. The DML manager is not as enthusiastic, though, and notes that while it sounds nice in theory, the training procedures are very different for both groups and doesn't think it will make much of an impact on student service. The Director of the IC sees great potential if all of the service desks in the IC had a stronger understanding of each other's services and resources, and could make better referrals, especially between the DML and the Library/IC services.
COMMUNITY A focus on a community of users is at the heart of an Information Commons model. How can the ideal of open access for the broader community be addressed while meeting the needs of a specific academic community? Community and open access are important ideals of librarians, and these ideals are particularly a point of focus within an Information Commons. While the primary community being served is the faculty, students, and staff of Lakeside University, the library staff also seeks to provide access to the broader urban community in which it is located. Lakeside University also has a strong commitment to social justice and continues to build a positive relationship with the broader community. As part of this commitment, the Information Commons offers access not only to Lakeside University alumni but to community members as well. Alumni access privileges are fairly extensive and are managed in cooperation with the Alumni Services Department. The community access program, however, stands apart from any other program on campus and adds another layer of complexity to managing the IC and its services. Ensuring student security and safety is of central importance to the staff at the Lakeside University. The IC entrance is also the primary entrance for the Library, and it uses an electronic gate with card readers to control access. Members of the University community have ID cards which allow access into campus buildings. Alumni and community members are required to check in at the front desk of the Information Commons and receive a guest badge which must be worn while in the facilities. Maintaining the guest access program requires investment in visitor access software and specially designated computer workstations. Most significantly, staffing is required to facilitate the entire guest access process. Because the IC is primarily part of an academic library, community guest access is limited to 8 am–5 pm, Monday through Saturday; and access to community members is restricted during crucial times such as final exams. Problems are rare, but opening access to the broader community involves additional issues such as the amount of time spent helping guests, explaining access policies, and policing the type of content being viewed on workstations. Between 14,000 and 15,000 alumni and community guests visit the Information Commons each year, so the visitor access program has been very successful. However, the ongoing success of the program depends upon a substantial investment of resources and the need to continually revise procedures and policies
that balance the needs of the broader community with the needs of a specific academic community. The already popular Information Commons became even more popular with the newly remodeled 4th floor space which includes an outdoor patio overlooking the city skyline, space for 150 people, and a catering kitchen for events. The IC assumed responsibility for coordinating and scheduling the space, and was charged with giving priority to academic events, although the exact definition of academic has been left up to the Library. The Director of the IC and library administration worked closely with facilities, catering, campus security and other groups to establish the guidelines for use of the multi-purpose room by the University community. With the growing demand for the space, and some groups attempting to schedule the space more than a year in advance, the Library is investigating ways to streamline the scheduling process for the community and still assure best use of the space for academic events. Many student groups, including fraternities, sororities, and student government are eager to use the space for their events as well, although they balk at some of the rules governing use of the space. The University's Event Services department has also identified the space as a perfect location for wedding receptions, or other events which are sources of both income and community goodwill for the University. As a recent example of scheduling issues, Prof. Ceres scheduled the space for a weekend six months from now to hold a weekend conference for an international group of astronomy scholars, of which she is the current president. Just yesterday the Director of the IC learned that the daughter of a potential donor, who is currently being courted by the Institution, has also expressed a desire to use the space on the same weekend for her wedding reception. Fairness would dictate first come first served, and other couples have been told that the space cannot be used for wedding receptions, but the Library also wants to be a team player and help the University to achieve its goals even if it means making an exception. A further complication is that the IC is open for abbreviated hours during that particular weekend because it is at the beginning of a semester break. Usually IC staff would be asked to help out by shifting their schedules to work the additional hours, but the usual “volunteers” are not available that weekend. Human Resources has also indicated some concern about the overtime pay which the occasional extended weekend hours generate. Staffing that weekend is important because the multi-purpose room is only accessible by entering through the IC and regardless of which event happens in the IC that weekend, it is necessary to keep the attendees from spreading out from the 4th floor MPR to the other floors of the IC. The Digital Media Lab has expressed concerns that some of the specialized equipment and workstations in the public areas will not be secure and might be damaged by guests. Catering Services indicated that they will provide security for the wedding reception, but previous experience has suggested that building security is not a high priority compared to the other demands of these types of events. Luckily the decision about staffing can be postponed for a few months, but unfortunately the decision about which event to allow in the space needs to be made within 48 h. One member of the community who also makes frequent, often daily, use of the IC is Mr. Sagan, who also happens to be an alumnus of the University. In addition to the IC Mr. Sagan attends many other University events and always makes sure that the President, Provost, and anyone else nearby knows that he is a proud alum. While not always a welcome addition to events, Mr. Sagan is tolerated because he lives in the neighborhood, contributes to the local weekly paper, and seems relatively harmless. Recently, however, he has taken to dragging a large rolling suitcase behind him when he enters the building, spreading out papers around “his workstation,” and talking (to himself?) while he writes what he claims to be his unfinished dissertation. Given that he is not familiar with online research and office applications he frequently asks for help from nearby students, student
F. Barnhart, P. Voelker / The Journal of Academic Librarianship 41 (2015) 855–857
workers, staff, or anyone that he can find to help him. Knowing that something needed to be done the Director of the IC asked Mr. Sagan not to “bother” the students around him, and to ask for help at a service point, but only a few times a day. The Director also suggested that he limit the amount of space he is using for his many papers. Within a few days the Director received a letter from Mr. Sagan, angrily remarking on the injustice of the institution taking his money for his B.A., M.A., and PhD course work, but now denying him services. Mr. Sagan also copied a number of Loyola offices, including the Library Administration, the Director of Alumni Services, the Provost and the President with his complaint that the University was happy to take his money, but now is kicking him out the door. As the Director of the IC is putting down the letter he sees that he is copied on an e-mail from the Director of Alumni Services to the Dean of Libraries requesting an explanation of why the Library is not helping an alumnus who is finishing his degree.. BALANCING COLLABORATION AND CONTEMPLATION Collaboration is also an important focus within the Information Commons. In terms of its learning spaces, many of Lakeside's spaces were designed with the ideal of collaborative and social study in mind. These spaces have been very successful, but students also desire individual, silent, and contemplative areas for study. How can balance be found between social and collaborative spaces and silent, individual, contemplative spaces within the same building? Collaboration is a word frequently associated with the Information Commons. A majority of learning spaces in the Lakeside Information Commons are geared toward collaboration. Two floors and 28 group study rooms in the Information Commons are geared toward collaborative study, and a lot of socialization between students also occurs on these floors. While these collaborative learning spaces receive heavy usage, students have increasingly expressed the need for silent, individual study areas. After six years of operation, the Lakeside Library conducted a survey of its students regarding the Information Commons. Along with additional outlets, the students most requested silent study spaces and even study carrels.
857
The question of how to facilitate silent, individual, contemplative study in a building largely designed for collaboration is an interesting one. The third floor of the Information Commons has always been designated as a silent floor, but its initial design with group study rooms, large open spaces and two-person study tables also lends itself to some of the same collaboration and socialization as the first two floors of the building. The designation of silent floor is usually respected by most students, but in the late evening or during especially busy times of year the floor's designation is insufficient. The IC staff have made some changes in floor configuration, such as table dividers, sound baffling on the group study rooms, and repositioning furniture to make conversation less inviting, but it is not always successful. One of the challenges to maintaining the study environment on the quiet floor has been working with supervisors and student employees about how to approach students when they are talking too loudly or making noise. For the most part students are embarrassed and immediately become quieter, but in some instances the students become belligerent and refuse to either be quiet or leave the floor. In these instances the supervisor is able to contact Campus Security for backup, or if the student's identity is known, contact the Student Disciplinary Board. Both actions have potentially negative consequences, though, both for the student and for the IC, since it can cause the incident to snowball. 1. How can a library best promote the range of services it offers in its information commons? 2. How can staff be trained so that they are aware of the entire range of services and spaces offered in their information commons/academic library? 3. Should an academic library offer access to the broader community? If so, how can the ideal of open access for the broader community be balanced with the needs of a specific academic community? 4. How might academic libraries and public libraries in a community work together to promote services for all members of the community? 5. How can balance be found between social/collaborative and individual/contemplative study and learning spaces in the same building? How might these study and learning spaces be assessed?