Level Up Your Library Space: Creating Modern Flexible Learning Spaces in a Small Academic Library
Type of Presentation
Individual paper/presentation
Conference Strand
Outreach and Partnership
Target Audience
Higher Education
Second Target Audience
Other
Community patrons
Location
Ballroom C
Relevance
This proposal explains how we created new spaces and added the technology needed to facilitate collaboration, research, and instruction opportunities. It also explained how the library incorporates podcasting and archives digitization into information literacy sessions.
Proposal
In the library world, the speed of cultural and technological changes often leaves libraries scrambling to keep up, particularly in smaller libraries that have limited budgets available for resources, equipment, and innovation opportunities. Despite being a small rural university library, Gardner-Webb University Library staff have come up with creative ways to transform the library’s physical space to better accommodate the needs of the campus community, both on and off campus. We used different approaches to accomplish these goals and gathered feedback from the campus community in order to help inform these decisions.
Examples included grant writing to cover the cost of renovation and acquire more up to date technologies for the library’s 3rd floor, as well as weeding the collection in order to create new collaborative study and meeting spaces. This floor now offers a podcasting studio, scanning equipment for archives digitization projects, Apple and Roku TVs for presentations, and rolling whiteboard tables that can be configured for a variety of needs. Part of this vision also included repurposing furniture that already existed in the library to create new spaces, and reconfiguring our collection to create a browsing collection in order to change the vibe of the overall space. This presentation will highlight some of the major projects that library staff participated in and describe the benefits and challenges we encountered throughout this endeavor. We also intend to address future goals that will support our efforts to maintain a flexible, inclusive environment for design for modern research and learning needs.
Short Description
This presentation will highlight some of the major projects that library staff participated in and describe the benefits and challenges we encountered throughout this endeavor. It will demonstrate ways to take your library space to the next level by using creativity and grant funding opportunities to create versatile and inclusive spaces in your library.
Keywords
Library technology, Adaptability, ADA compliance, Flexible learning spaces, Inclusive, Sustainable changes, Collaboration, Academic libraries
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Mabry, Holly, "Level Up Your Library Space: Creating Modern Flexible Learning Spaces in a Small Academic Library" (2025). Georgia International Conference on Information Literacy. 3.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gaintlit/2025/2025/3
Level Up Your Library Space: Creating Modern Flexible Learning Spaces in a Small Academic Library
Ballroom C
In the library world, the speed of cultural and technological changes often leaves libraries scrambling to keep up, particularly in smaller libraries that have limited budgets available for resources, equipment, and innovation opportunities. Despite being a small rural university library, Gardner-Webb University Library staff have come up with creative ways to transform the library’s physical space to better accommodate the needs of the campus community, both on and off campus. We used different approaches to accomplish these goals and gathered feedback from the campus community in order to help inform these decisions.
Examples included grant writing to cover the cost of renovation and acquire more up to date technologies for the library’s 3rd floor, as well as weeding the collection in order to create new collaborative study and meeting spaces. This floor now offers a podcasting studio, scanning equipment for archives digitization projects, Apple and Roku TVs for presentations, and rolling whiteboard tables that can be configured for a variety of needs. Part of this vision also included repurposing furniture that already existed in the library to create new spaces, and reconfiguring our collection to create a browsing collection in order to change the vibe of the overall space. This presentation will highlight some of the major projects that library staff participated in and describe the benefits and challenges we encountered throughout this endeavor. We also intend to address future goals that will support our efforts to maintain a flexible, inclusive environment for design for modern research and learning needs.
