Vanessa Lam
27 October 2014:The University of Canberra's Library Commons has expanded its area and extended its hours to a 24/7 service in response to an increase in student demand in the last 12 months.
The original Library Commons, which opened in 2010, only occupied a third of the Library's ground floor and has now been expanded to the entire level.
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Deputy Vice-Chancellor (education) Nick Klomp, University Librarian Anita Crotty and UCSA president Jacob White at the opening of the new Library Commons area. Photo: Michelle McAulay. |
University Librarian Anita Crotty explained that although the Library, housed in Building 8 is set to get a complete redesign next year, this level of the facility needed to expand sooner.
"We just took something that was really working and expanded it to a larger area. Now the space providing these services 24/7 extends to over 1,000 square metres."
"Students want more of this type of space; that's accessible when they want to study, where they feel safe and secure and have facilities such as computers, power, copying, scanning and access to Wi-Fi," Ms Crotty said.
The University of Canberra Students Association (UCSA) president Jacob White said it was "great to see the University responding to that demand and responding to that need for expanding services".
The Library Commons area was expanded to become a one-stop shop, providing all students with a central spot on campus to come study any time, in an area where they have access to all the resources they need.
Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) Nick Klomp, who officially opened the new area, celebrated the Library's initiative.
"Students are sometimes working on their assignments during the middle of the day, but often they've got part-time work and full-time study, so they are working in the middle of the night finishing assignments, particularly before exams or when assignments are due, so it's important to recognize that," Professor Klomp said.
"Instead of making students fit into a 9am to 5pm business day, we're recognizing that students work differently and that we've got to provide those services," he added.
In addition to the previous services offered at the Library Commons, the new services include: increased wireless bandwidth, wireless printing throughout the building, more printing and scanning facilities, more seating, access to more toilets, more power points and 80 desktop computers. The building also received a complete upgrade of its climate control, which will allow each floor to be managed separately.
