After many years of planning, research, and design, Stage 1 of the new Science Library opened on July 20th. As soon as the doors opened, students were ready to explore. Some were immediately drawn to the collaborative areas on the ground floor and started writing with white board markers on the specially designed glass-topped tables. Others headed through the light, open atrium and up the stairs to find a quiet place to study amongst the book stacks.

"The Library is designed primarily for students," John Arfield, University Librarian and Director (Information Management), said. "Students want to come to libraries to work and, increasingly, they are working together, either informally or on group projects, and there are few places on campus where they can do this."

The role of libraries in a successful campus culture cannot be underestimated, as Mr Arfield explained:

"Libraries are an important part of the student experience and this will be a library for the present, with a sense of the past, looking forward to the future. The building is not just a storehouse for books. There are a variety of different workspaces."

The Science Library has been designed so that all styles of learning and working can be accommodated in different zones.

"The ground floor has open spaces for collaborative work," Mr Arfield said. "Students can move the furniture around to suit themselves,  talk, even use their phones. There are spaces designed for small groups to work around tables with laptops, and there are plenty of computers provided."

Jill Benn, acting Manager of the Science Library, explained how the study environment becomes quieter as you move up the stairs.

"The first and second floors are quieter study areas and contain the book collections," Ms Benn said. "There are sound-proof group study rooms, and a parents' room for those with young children."

There is also a special needs room for people with disabilities that will be staffed by UniAccess. "This room has desks that can be adjusted to suit the height of wheelchairs," said Ms Benn, "but there are also six of these desks on the main floor if people in wheelchairs prefer to use them there."

For those who have ventured upstairs but need to use their mobile phone there is a sound-proof CellZone booth provided to minimise disruption to others.

The top floor is designed as a silent study zone. The fittings and furniture have a different style, with a more traditional scholarly atmosphere, and a room for the dedicated use of staff and postgraduate students.

"This is where you can really get your head down and study in silence without distraction," Mr Arfield said.

Work continues on Stage 2, integrating the spaces in the renovated Biological Sciences Library building into the Science Library. This is due to be completed by the end of the year. This area will contain an access grid classroom that will allow classes to be shared with other teachers and students in remote sites over high speed networks.The plans also include a café, which Mr Arfield believes will become an important social nexus.

"The Friday afternoon Science Communication seminars will take place in the café. We hope to bring staff and students out of the labs and corridors to share ideas and build a real community of science centred around the Science Library."

Mr Arfield explained that this $30 million project is an "investment in the future" specifically designed to "take advantage of the ever increasing opportunities of collaborative learning."

"We wanted this library to embody a connection to the past, showing the stories and the ideas and, in some cases, the struggles of those who have gone before. But at the same time it is thoroughly contemporary, equipped with the spaces and technology needed for today's study and research."

Issue 124 August 2009

ISN 1444-8157 (print)

1325-6459 (online)

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