On March 3, Lorelie Crabtree-Mansur came by the Education-Psychology Library to discuss the New Directions process with the Education-Psychology and Social Welfare staff.

    Lorelie gave a brief introduction about the New Directions Process, and then encouraged us to discuss issues that are of interest to us directly. We decided to talk about physical space.

    The discussion started by the Staff making comments on what we have noticed regarding the use of space in the Libraries, with specific focus on the spaces at ED-P and Social Welfare. Some issues that were raised were;

 1) Study Space ? Students use our libraries heavily as a study area.
 2) Computer Stations ? Our Computer Stations are also very heavily used.
 3) Distribution of Space within Libraries ? our locations on campus draw people to us. Students like       having a wide variety of locations in which to study.
 4) Group Study Space ? We are often asked about group study areas by our patrons.
 5) Physical Collections ? These are not used as heavily as they have been in the past. We discussed     the need to have collections tied to physical spaces.  Collections that are browse-able bring people     to the location. Certain parts of our collections, such as the new book shelf,  are heavily used and       browsed.  We noted the browseable nature of successful bookstores, like Borders, and discussed         how we might use their methods here.
 6) Since common spaces are so heavily used, we discussed how redesigning them could make them     more inviting.

Starting Points for innovations to space planning at ED-P and SOCW:

    Create Group Study areas?  However, this would require remodeling.

    How can we enhance the use of the Children?s Literature room as the multi-use space it already is? A little remodeling, i.e., new chairs and tables, an A/V setup, would make it a better BI classroom, group study space, quiet space for private study, group meeting room,etc.

    Improving the look and feel of the ED-P and SOCW Reading rooms. These are well used spaces with lots of natural light, but could potentially be made more inviting with more comfortable chairs and tables.
    We need to maintain the specialized reference service area and computer work stations. We should not  lose sight of the need for our important traditional roles and services.

    Marketing our assets and resources. Since patrons are using us as a study space, we should cater to this, and get the word out that we are doing very well at providing this service.

Possible Starting points beyond ED-P and SOCW.

    Perhaps we should have more of the computer capabilities that the computer labs have, such as word processing and spreadsheets.

    We discussed the need to maximize on collaboration with our UC-wide consortia.   Similar to the benefits achieved in creating the CDL Melvyl catalog, we can expect to benefit collectively from the ongoing consortial efforts regarding shared print archives and prospective collection purchasing.   There may be other potential areas of collaboration with respect to our digital library presence and access issues.    We also acknowledged that public libraries have implemented many digital library features worth considering.    

Other Questions

    How do we balance the excellence we provide in three areas, i.e, our physical library with its digital access and print resources, our virtual library, and our research librarian and staff service expertise, to meet the diverse needs of our patrons.   In particular, how can we better connect and promote our services and resources in B-Space, on class and faculty websites, through social networking sites. etc. to better reach out to faculty and students virtually?
    What about Outreach? We used to be the first place that people went when they had a need for information. But now that isn?t necessarily the case. How do we get that back?
    Also, how can we or should we get involved in social networking sites as an outreach tool?
    Should we or do we have to be competing with other information brokers like Google?
    If we have the market on campus for trustworthy study space, should we capitalize on that by expanding computer services? Perhaps taking on many of the tasks of the computer labs?
    With the increase in digital books and new technology like the Kindle reader, how best should we respond?  How will these affect us, and should we get involved?