Big brother is always watching. Especially for students this year in the Dewitt Learning Commons.
This fall, the Learning Commons is making some modernizing changes.
Assessments are one of the many new changes to the DeWitt Learning Commons this fall. Five times a day, peer research students and librarians walk through the campus library to observe the places and rooms that students are using. The hope is that this data will help the librarians make informed decisions about how to better utilize the building in the future.
“We’re always trying to improve how we deliver resources to students,” said Greta Grond, library director. “We want to be able to provide services that meet students needs.”
A new service the library now offers is a charging station to accommodate a variety of devices including several smartphones. One station is located on the main level and the other upstairs.
The library also contains five new iPads available for check out.
Students may also notice a new TV located behind the circulation desk. The goal is that the TV will inform students of what services are offered in the library and who is available to help them. The TV will also serve as a welcome for visitors on RED101 days.
Additionally, the library has also welcomed a new staff member, Sara Huyser.
“Oh, she’s just fabulous. I think she’ll be a great face of the Learning Commons,” Grond said.
One of Huyser’s many responsibilities involves managing all of the work study students for the library.
“She is a wonderful, enthusiastic staff member who relates well to the many work study students she supervises at the circulation desk,” said Anne Mead, reference librarian. “She values information and has a passion for the library.”
Huyser explained her favorite parts of her job.
“Of course working and interacting with the students and the people here are wonderful too,” she said.
When asked about the worst part of her job, Huyser mentioned the bikes available for check-out. More notably, the maintenance and upkeep of the bikes.
As for future additions to the library, staff is planning a faculty scholarship display to promote and highlight published faculty work. This work may include articles, books, or book reviews.
“Our faculty does some pretty cool stuff, and we want to make sure that gets acknowledged and celebrated,” Grond said.
The scholarship display was started in the old Ramaker Library, and staff hopes to pick it up again in the new library.
“We want the Learning Commons to be a useful place to students, a place you want to be,” Grond said.
