Reilly Learning Commons–Technology and Features

The Reilly Learning Commons is now open 24 hours!! HURRAH!! As you enter the space you’ll notice lounge seating and a large digital sign to share news and updates about the Learning Commons.

The first two rooms as you enter the space are for the Writing Center. They’ll be providing tutoring here with both appointments and drop-in hours. To see their full hours for the space visit the new webpage. When tutoring is not scheduled, the rooms will be available for students to reserve.

There are 5 additional group study rooms around the perimeter. They also have large monitors with HDMI wires for students to view their laptops as a group. The group study rooms are reservable by visiting the website. We are encouraging students to always reserve a room so another group does not show up and ask them to leave. In each of the rooms, the blue walls are writeable! Some have chalk and some have dry-erase markers.OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

There are four booth seating, or collaboration areas with large monitors and HDMI cords. You just have to plug the cord into the HDMI outlet on your laptop, this turns the TV on automatically. Once the TV is on, just push the play button on the wire and it will send the screen to the large monitor. You’ll be able to work on group projects more easily! Four students can have their devices plugged in at a time and switch between them by pushing the play button on each cord. These seating areas also have two stools and a high counter for additional students to work together.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERAIn addition to the group study rooms and the collaborative booth areas, we’ve also added 6 new high end PCs and 6 new iMacs! They each have dual monitors and have brand new software including Adobe Creative Suite, iMovie, Final Cut Pro, and more. We’ve ordered additional chairs so students will be able to work in pairs at these stations. We also have our 19 old lab PCs, and several open stations for students to bring their own device.

Along the back wall you’ll find the Tech Support office that will be staffed by student workers throughout the semester to help with technology in the space. The middle room along the back wall is for Lecture Capture. Students will be able to reserve this room and it will be used to practice presentations and record them online using Panopto, the same software used in classrooms for lecture capture.

The funding for the Reilly Learning Commons was done entirely through fundraising by the Library Dean, Charles Kratz and the University’s Development Office. The planning was done by a team of librarians, teaching faculty, members of IT Services, CTLE, campus facilities, and a design from architects Hemmler and Camayd.

Save the Date–Ribbon Cutting September 17th

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Save the Date! We will be holding the Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening for the Reilly Learning Commons on Wednesday, September 17 at 10am. Coffee, tea, and light refreshments will be served.

Immediately following the Grand Opening will be a vendor fair from 10am-12pm and 1-3pm on both the 17th and 18th. We have invited some of our major information providers, including: ProQuest, Springer, Elsevier, EBSCO, ebrary, etc. to our campus to show interested students, faculty, and staff how these products can meet their research needs as well as answer any questions they may might have about using these resources for their research.

Evelyn and Katherine Reilly Plaque

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As construction continues on the Reilly Learning Commons, a plaque honoring two additional donors from the Reilly family has been installed. In addition to the generous donation from Joseph Reilly, two of his sisters, Evelyn and Katherine, have also contributed donations to the Weinberg Memorial Library’s Twentieth Anniversary campaign to bring the Learning Commons to light. Thank you, Reilly Family for your continued support of the Library!

Stay tuned for announcements on the grand opening and other events to celebrate the Learning Commons this fall semester!

Write and Cite Comes to the WML

S14 Write and Cite Day 1

Last Tuesday and Wednesday, May 13th and 14th, the CTLE‘s Writing Center set up camp in the Weinberg Memorial Library to offer assistance to students with their final papers.

This collaboration between the Writing Center and the Library was called “Write & Cite,” and included 4-6 Writing Consultants located at two stations (with refreshments!) during the evening on the Tuesday and Wednesday of Dead Week. Consultants were available for drop-in appointments in the 1st floor Reilly Learning Commons and the 2nd floor Reference Desk area from 5 to 8 pm both nights. The premise was for consultants to be available to assist students with their writing where that writing was actually taking place, and the close proximity of the Reference Desk meant students could also be referred to a Reference Librarian for assistance with formatting their citations.

And the event was a success! Thirty-three students received assistance through writing consultations over the course of both nights of the program, with three referrals to a librarian for citation assistance.

Miss your chance to meet with a Writing Consultant during Spring 2014’s “Write & Cite” event? Do not fear: beginning in Fall 2014, the Writing Center will have two satellite locations in the Reilly Learning Commons, making our resourceful Writing Consultants a permanent fixture in the Weinberg Memorial Library.

Many thanks to the Writing Consultants for making this event the success it was, to Amye Archer, Writing Center Coordinator, for planning the event, and to the CTLE for furnishing the refreshments.

Please, Take a Seat

Learning Commons Floor Plan FinalYou may have seen the article in the April 28th issue of Aquinas about the changes coming to the Reilly Learning Commons. In addition to collaborative spaces, high-end computers and larger study surfaces, there will be additional group study rooms, a lecture capture room and CTLE Writing Center satellite service. You may be wondering what will happen to the furniture that is now located in this first floor room.  We are looking throughout the building to match places where a person might enjoy studying or sitting  that currently do not have seating.  If you have some suggestions, please email reference@scranton.edu

Touch-Table Update

You may have noticed that our mulit-touch Ideum Platform table has been out of order recently. We have been working on fixing the device, with no luck. Ideum is going to be sending us a new monitor that will hopefully solve the problem. We will let you know when it is back up and running! touch table

The Library is Closing at 4PM!

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Due to the heavy snow that is forecast to continue throughout the day, the library will be closing at 4PM today.

The Reilly Learning Commons and Pro Deo rooms will continue to be open to all students with a current Royal Card. Please swipe your Royal Card to gain entrance into either room.

The library will continue to support virtual reference services throughout the night (24 hours). Simply click the Ask A Librarian chat box on any of the library’s main pages or the image below.

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Library Changes for 2013

touch tableYou may notice a few physical changes on the first floor of the Library when you return this semester. The most noticeable changes are in the Pro Deo room by Java City. Through a considerable donation for the Library’s 20th Anniversary last year, we were able to purchase an Ideum Platform Multitouch Table. The Multitouch Table runs on Windows 8 and has several apps installed. You can view photos from the Library’s Flickr stream, look at images of Hurricane Sandy’s effects on the Jersey Shore, view the landscapes of the planets in our solar system, put a puzzle together, and more! We will be working on adding apps and customizing programs for the device throughout the year. If you have any suggestions for the Multitouch Table, please, let us know. We are excited to see how you use the table and all its capabilities.

Cafe tablesAnother big change in the Pro Deo room is the addition of six cafe tables in half of the room. This has allowed us to increase seating in the space and make it more inviting from the outside looking in. The Pro Deo room now has a more cafe-like vibe for group discussion and interactive learning. While it may feel more open,  there are an additional 10+ seats.

The computer work stations and study carrells have been relocated to the Reilly Learning Commons, aka the other 24 Hour Room, so the same amount of computers are still available 24 hours a day! There is also a floating white board in the Reilly room, additional couches,and two high top tables with stools.

Here’s what you said about the new 24 hour space

The Library asked for students’ opinions of the 24 Hour Study Space.  This room was constructed in response to student requests.   For our future planning, we want to know what you would like.

Thank you for your comments!

Environment :

You said: It was too cold, it was too hot, or it was just right.
We say: It should be okay now.  Let us know if it isn’t.

Group Study Rooms:

You said: One person takes the room that is intended for a group.
We say: If this happens when Library staff is available, please let us know and we will ask the person to yield the room.

You said: More group study rooms and larger group study rooms.
We say: The Library is looking for ways and places for more group study rooms that will be constructed as funds and space permit.

Furnishings:

You said: More of the cushioned rocker chairs because the wooden ones are too hard.
We say: We are ordering more.

You said: Several people asked for a vending machine for beverages,other asked for a hot water machine.
We say: A soda/cold water vending machine was installed today! There are two water fountains by the restroom. We are investigating the possibility of getting a water cooler that dispenses hot water.

You said: More and higher tables.
We say: All new tables will be higher and we will look at fixing leg room for our current tables.

You said: Love seats for intimate relations, and several people asked for cup holders.
We say:  New chairs will be lounge chairs with tablet arms and cup holders.

You said: Food
We say: Vending machine is in place.

You said: Staplers, hole punchers
We say: Done!

Services:

You said: Several people asked for two sided printing.
We say: We’re trying.  We appreciate students’ interest in conserving paper and trees.  This is very important to us as well. The printer in the new 24 hour room is set to print two sided.  Wireless jobs go to this printer. If you do not want two sided printing, you need to change the default. One of your subsidized prints (or seven cents) is deducted for each side you print.  The expense of printing is the toner more than the paper.  While the other printers in the Library could print two sided, they are not working well with UniPrint.  We will continue to try to provide this service.

You said: Newspapers
We say: These are available on the second floor when the Library is open.

More access:

You said: Have a gate come down for the counter area and then connect the two after hour sections.
We say: We thought about that, but there is no way to close off the stair case leading to the second floor.

You said: Can we have an entrance open on the side of the Library for more convenient access from DeNaples.
We say: If we could use the time machine someone requested, we would go forward in time and connect the two buildings.

You said: Have “after hours entrance” always open.
We say: This exit does not have a gate like the other entrances/exits do so we need to have people leave through the exits with the security gates.

You said: Any way to keep the 2nd floor open as well—more space, computers, books and good times!!
We say: We need to control access to the second floor collection, desks and offices to times when staff are present.

Wishes:

You said: Color printer
We say: Libraries that have these charge 25 cents a page.  Right now, the Library is opting to subsidize 200 prints per semester (with an additional 50 for those taking Intersession classes)

You said: Kittens; Cuddly cute animal/puppy viewing area (lots of people liked this idea); Swimming pool; Time machine; Headphone station

Compliments (Thanks!):

Best place to study by far after 12:00 am

Love having 24 hour access to group study rooms

I love it in here.   Yay! I heart it so much!  Spacious.  Thanks everyone it’s luxurious.

Excellent.  Gr8 job!!!  Woohoo I like it!  It rocks

Thanks, what a nice way to go!  From the Class of 2010 and all the rest of alumni.

This room is smooth like keystone…you mean Keith Stone

Great for midterm and final study nights

Very convenient now with so many students

Great addition! Quiet place to study!  Congratulations!

You have space to do work and not crammed into the Pro Deo room

Very convenient on weekends being open before noon.

It’s Official! Ribbon Cutting for 24 Hour Room

Rita cuts the ribbon

Our new 24-hour study room has been open since the first week of school… but we wanted to have a ceremony!  Today at 2pm, University of Scranton student government president Rita DiLeo cut the ribbon to officially open our newly renovated study space.  During the ceremony, Library Dean Charles Kratz thanked the student government and the University administration (represented by Provost Hal Baillie) for working so hard to make our renovations happen.  As Rita noted at the end of the ceremony, the space is already popular with students – in fact, many students were studying in cubicles and group study rooms during the ribbon cutting itself.

Thanks again to everyone who made our new room possible!  See more photos of the ceremony on our Flickr page.

Student government president Rita DiLeo, Library Dean Charles Kratz, and Provost Hal Baillie at the ribbon cutting ceremony

Dr. Baillie tests out the Library’s new furniture