EDUCAUSE

I’m at EDUCAUSE this week. I’m also sick but even ill I’m still trilled at being here. Attendance at this conference is essential for me. How does anyone NOT attend???

Yesterday I attended the presentation by Brian Hawkins on the “Grand Challenges”. Among these are access, affordability, assessment/accountability, effectiveness, workforce development, economic development, the change in social contract, etc. Brian challenged us to think about how IT translates to address these challenges. Is IT part of the solution? Is it a contributor? Alternatively, is it “just another cost”. How does IT move beyond being a “negative blip” on the President’s radar? How can it move beyond “just another cost” or a “black hole” of funding?

It occurred to me that, as librarians, we face the same “grand challenge” in much of the same way as IT. How are our libraries contributing to the success of our parent organizations? What are we doing to advance the mission of our institutions? How do we become more than a “cost center”?

It seems to me that we need to do a better job of integrating ourselves into the fabric of our institutions so that we can engage them in a discussion about what “success” looks like for our libraries. We need to work within our institutions to define and describe our libraries’ goals in an institutional context. How do we contribute to the research success of our faculty? How do we contribute to their teaching? How do contribute to student learning?

Evaluation should then occur at all levels (micro, macro and mega). We need to show how we’re contributing to the success of our parent institutions – on all levels. What is mega? It is our impact on society. I have a pet peeve and I have to diverge for a moment (maybe I’ll blog more on this later): academic libraries that do not engage their local communities and in particular their local public libraries. These are important partnerships that should not be overlooked. As academic libraries we are part of a larger community and should feel obligated to contribute to the success of that community. Divisions between academic and public libraries are self-imposed. Those walls should be torn down.

We need to continue to work on new measures. Until we find a way of linking funding requests directly to institutional and societal success, we’ll just be seen as a “black hole” of funding.

Transforming our catalog

McMaster University will radically transform its online library catalogue becoming the first Canadian library to use a vibrant, revolutionary software; the same interface used by such retailers as Home Depot and Chapters/Indigo. The announcement comes a day after the University unveiled its new Learning Commons, yet another indication of the technological transformation occuring in the University’s libraries.

The changes, based on the Endeca Information Access Platform (IAP), eclipse earlier approaches to online catalogues by adding capabilities students expect from web browsing. They can now search results ranked by relevance, and refine navigation by topic, author, genre, language, material type, format, and availability.

The Unviersity becomes the first Canadian research library to use the software, and the second in North America (after North Carolina State University.) Other Endeca clients include Bank of America, Boeing, Cox Newspapers, The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, Hyatt, IBM, John Deere, The Library of Congress, and Nike.

With a long-standing reputation as Canada’s “most innovative” university, McMaster has pioneered a number of programs that have changed how professors teach and students learn. Students and other patrons will be able to interchangeably search and browse the University’s vast collection of materials and information in unprecedented ways. The project isslated to start this month.
As students turn increasingly to the internet to find information, this easy-to-use approach reinvigorates interest in library collections. Endeca’s IAP transforms our virtual environment into a space where students can inquire, discover and learn. It also shows McMaster’s commitment to being a leader in the Library community as well as in higher education.

McMaster University, a world-renowned, research-intensive university, fosters a culture of innovation, and a commitment to discovery and learning in teaching, research and scholarship. Based in Hamilton, the University, one of only four Canadian universities to be listed on the Top 100 universities in the world, has a student population of more than 23,000, and an alumni population of more than 120,000 in 128 countries.

Learning Commons

Today we celebrated the opening of the new Learning Commons at the Mills Library at McMaster University. The Mills Learning Commons Project is the result of an innovative partnership between the University Library, the Center for Leadership in Learning, the Center for Student Development, and University Technology Services.

As academics we know that learning takes place everywhere on our campuses; in classrooms, the library, the student centre, in residences—everywhere that students gather. We also know that physical space has a tremendous impact on learning. This new learning commons represents the physical transformation of traditional library space into a facility that supports the needs of today’s new generation of learners. It is a truly student-centered space that supports inquiry, discovery and learning.

Today’s opening marks a milestone for the library and for the other Commons partners, and I am particularly pleased that our President, Dr. Peter George was able to help us mark the occasion.

First of all, I would like to thank the University for its financial support. I’d also like to publicly acknowledge McMaster alumni Alan & Brenda Wong, who have generously funded the Quick Access Area in the Learning Commons.

Planning for this project began during the tenure of former University Librarian Graham Hill, and I’d like to take this opportunity to recognize his vision and all the work associated with getting such a large project started. As well, I’d like to acknowledge Charlotte Stewart, who, as Acting University Librarian last year, was involved as the Project got underway.

A sincere thank you to all the individuals who made up the Learning Commons Project Review Committee and the Library Implementation Team. They are:

 

• Paul Otto
• Mary Ruth Linkert
• Desmond Pouyat
• John Alley
• Erika Kustra
• Stephanie Murray
• Michael Potter
• George Hough

• Barbara McDonald
• Anne Plessl
• Heather Grigg
• Peter Walsh

In particular, I would like to thank Vivian Lewis for her exemplary leadership and dedication throughout the project. Without her hard work this facility would not have been possible. I’m sure there were many times that she thought this day would never arrive!

Last but certainly not least, I’d like to thank Brian MacDougall, Project Manager, and his great construction crew for all their hard work!

Although many months of work are now behind us, work will continue on other phases of the Learning Commons for the next several months. And this is just the beginning. As part of the University’s Campaign for McMaster, we and our colleagues in University Advancement will begin to raise funds for a Learning Commons facility at Thode Library. As part of the vibrant academic community that is McMaster, we look forward to the continuing evolution of the learning process and our role in supporting it.