The design of The Sir Michael Cobham Library at Bournemouth University (BU) represents an holistic approach to meeting student expectations. This paper will consider how the latest innovations in Library design are shaped by technology and learning.  Parallels will be drawn with the libraries of the ancient world, printing revolution of the fifteenth century and their impact on learning.   Best practice was used in the design of BU Library and continues to inform enhancements to the learning space. The big differences made by small changes are discussed; especially the changes in the boundary between group social and silent study space to ensure that library buildings are still seen as relevant in an increasingly digital world.  The student experience at BU is enhanced by innovative pedagogical frameworks that bring together learning activities and academically- led quality e-resources within the unit of study. In this environment the JISC (2007) description of ICT “fading into the foreground” becomes a reality as students embrace new technologies and own the library space in which they are available

Ball, David

Beard, Jill

Dale, Penny

English

Bournemouth University Research Online

Small Changes – Big Difference: Bournemouth University Library and its learningcommunity.AuthorsDavid Ball: University Librarian, Bournemouth UniversityEmail: dball@bournemouth.ac.ukJill Beard: Deputy University Librarian, Bournemouth UniversityPenny Dale: Subject Librarian, Bournemouth UniversityAbstractThe design of The Sir Michael Cobham Library at Bournemouth University (BU) represents an holisticapproach to meeting student expectations. This paper will consider how the latest innovations in Librarydesign are shaped by technology and learning.  Parallels will be drawn with the libraries of the ancientworld, printing revolution of the fifteenth century and their impact on learning.   Best practice was used inthe design of BU Library and continues to inform enhancements to the learning space. The big differencesmade by small changes are discussed; especially the changes in the boundary between group social andsilent study space to ensure that library buildings are still seen as relevant in an increasingly digital world.  The student experience at BU is enhanced by innovative pedagogical frameworks that bring togetherlearning activities and academically- led quality e-resources within the unit of study. In this environment theJISC (2007) description of ICT “fading into the foreground” becomes a reality as students embrace newtechnologies and own the library space in which they are available.In our reckoning there have been three ICT revolutions.The first was the development of writing.  Beforehand the only vehicle for storing information was thehuman memory.  Transmission relied on speech and signs.  If content was not to perish with the individual,replication needed time and personal contact.  After writing’s invention, portable storage media decreasedthe restrictions imposed by time and space.  Knowledge was much less vulnerable: more could be storedand passed from generation to generation and to distant lands.  Critical thinking was enhanced.While writing represented a huge advance, scholars in the world of manuscripts knew severe limitations.They tended to travel to manuscripts, which were often in jeopardy: witness the destruction at Alexandria.It was very difficult to determine provenance and authority, and to compare texts.  Dissemination bycopying tended to corrupt texts.It is very difficult for us now to appreciate the scale and impact of the second ICT revolution – printing withmovable type.  Scholars in the late 15th and early 16th centuries were however under no illusions.  We hearof Johann Fust having to flee Paris, whose inhabitants believed that only someone in league with the devilcould produce so many perfect copies of the bible.  Later Fust was conflated with Georg (later Johann)Faust, who was of course reputed to have sold his soul to the devil in return for knowledge (Eisenstein1993, pp19-20).  Particularly telling is the association of a technology, so marvellous that it could only beachieved through necromancy, with the pursuit of that most dangerous commodity – knowledge.For the scholar the advances represented by printing were marked.  The possibilities of obtaining textswere hugely enhanced.  By 1503 8 million books had been printed, more, it is estimated, than the numberof manuscripts produced between 330AD, the founding of Constantinople, and 1453, when it fell to theTurks; the cost of copying one manuscript equated to the cost of producing over 300 printed books(Eisenstein 1993, pp13-14).  Provenance and authority were enhanced by the use of title pages; textsbecame more organised and exploitable through indexes, tables of contents etc.  Later editionsimproved texts; they did not corrupt them.Other advances are echoed in today’s electronic revolution.  Luther nailed his Ninety-five Theses to thedoor of Wittenberg’s Schlosskirche on 31 October 1517. Within two weeks they were translated and knownthroughout Germany, throughout Europe in a month (Eisenstein 1993, p153).  For contemporaries thislightning speed was as fantastic as the speed of electronic communication today.Eisentein (1993, p45) also notes that printing fostered social and intellectual combinatory activity.  Muchinnovative scholarly work was undertaken outside the established academic centres.  Printers developednetworks of contributors and researchers, to improve their texts and give a competitive edge.  Again thisstrikes a chord with the development of virtual research communities today (Borda et al. 2006).Eisenstein (1993, p80) also quotes Thomas Jefferson on the preservative powers of print:How many of the precious works of antiquity were lost while they existed only in manuscript?  Has there everbeen one lost since the art of printing has rendered it practicable to multiply and disperse copies?  This leadsus then to the only means of preserving … that is a multiplication of printed copies.These points forward to the LOCKSS initiative –Lots Of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe.These echoes of very current concerns and issues remind us that there is every reason to believe that thecurrent, third ICT revolution will have as far-reaching effects as the first two.  Our duty as librarians is toembrace, lead and harness change.  As David Penniman of the University at Buffalo remarked, “To remainwhat it is, the library must change . . . if it does not change, it will not remain what it is”.  It is with thisremark, and the historical context, in mind that we have approached the design of our library and itsservices.In 2007 the Sir Michael Cobham Library won the quinquennial SCONUL Library Design Award. Thisrecognised the “intelligence” of the building and its ability to adapt. Shelia Cannell, Chair of the SCONULWorking Group on Space Planning, said “This building can continue to respond to changes in libraryservice, because it is so flexible”.Since opening in 2003 six years of making small changes has created a space to meet the needs of thedigital student.  Use of the space has increased in spite of continuing growth in the use of e-resources anddecline in the use of print (Ball, 2007; Beard and Dale, 2008).Figure 1: Bournemouth University Library User Activity AnalysisThe ability to succeed is the ability to adapt.  It’s about embracing and leading change, drawing on support from thosearound you.  We must create an active learning environment not only by maximising space but also by ensuring it issympathetic to the developing pedagogy and to students’ expectations.These words were written by David Ball to encapsulate the 50th anniversary of the Library at Bournemouth, acelebration that, like this article, drew parallels with the history of writing and printing.Good library design demonstrates agility and adaptability in the use of space (Heppel et al. 2004).  Virtualenvironments enable integration of resources within the unit of study.  The rate of change for highereducation libraries in the UK is exponential but is full of opportunity (Guardian 2008).Student feedback and observations as well as evolving pedagogy have led to the introduction oftechnology-rich areas for learning. Enhancements include interactive smart boards and WiFi zones forsilent study. During summer 2008 the spaces for social learning were extended. This has proved popularwith students, especially the introduction of six “techno booths” that allow groups to work interactively witha range of technologies.Figure 2:  Techno BoothsAttention to detail - for example signing, choice of fixtures, fittings and technology or the introduction ofmachines for drinks and snacks - considerably enhances the experience of using the library.  Backgroundto the choices which underpinned the design is given in the article by Beard and Dale (2008) and imagesare displayed on the University website.As well as reflecting on changes and adaptations at BU, there is value in looking for examples from acrossHigher Education and other sectors. The Liber and Designing Libraries sites give examples including thosefrom BU.In a world increasingly dominated by technology the academic library has become a place to learn that is constantlyadapting and changing, reflecting “what the student does” (Biggs 2007). The JISC Student Expectations Study(2007) described ICT “fading into the foreground”. This succinctly describes the BU experience as studentsembrace new technologies and readily own the library space in which they are available.   The successfulpersonal and silent space but with good access to wireless technology is as important as the technologyrich group spaces.Figure 3: Silent StudyThe big differences made by small changes has resulted in the opening in 2009 at BU of a paperlesslibrary for postgraduate business students where each student will be equipped with an e-book reader toaccess their e-resources. The positive student feedback on  “techno-booths” with their versatility offeringpossibilities for group research, ideas generation, report writing and presentation preparation is at thecentre of the group technology rich space in the new Executive Business School Library.  Following the introduction of a University-wide virtual learning environment (VLE) in 2006, BU library hasdeveloped a number of innovative ways to exploit the possibilities it provides. The high profile Library Tabbrings together all library resources and services.Figure 4. myBU: Library TabThe potential of the Library Tab was enhanced by the helpful timing of a vital external factor. The UKCopyright Licensing Agency (CLA) introduced a trial licence for photocopying and scanning in 2006,enabling BU to scan sections of books and make them available at unit level on the newly commissionedVLE.  In August 2008 the CLA licence was established and extended to US publishers (subject toexclusions). Making material available on my BU at unit level has not only embedded important e-resources within the unit of study, but has freed up space in The Sir Michael Cobham Library to disbandthe poorly used short loan collection and re-figure the space within the social learning area of the library.This example of the synergy between the pedagogies of e-learning and an important space where learningoccurs is explored further in the decision to integrate reading lists into the VLE.  As Beard and Dale (2008)note “Reading lists are part of a directional package on a route to resource discovery”.Our next innovations will endeavour to save the time of the user. We have established a VLE communityfocusing on getting the best out of all the learning resources provided by the library and are introducingways of saving the academic time when identifying e-resources to include in reading lists and ourcollections.In 2007 funding from the Higher Education Academy enabled BU Library to accelerate work already inprogress to support learning and teaching in rapidly evolving digital environments. The project, entitled“eRes: Innovative e-Learning with e-Resources”, aimed to enhance the student learning experience bydeveloping and disseminating:1. innovative pedagogical frameworks which bring together learning activities and academically ledquality e-resources within the unit of study2. an e-reading strategy which encompasses models for resource discovery and e-literacy3. guidelines on the appropriate support required by academics from librarians, staff developers and learningtechnologistsAcademic staff from across BU contributed case studies, describing how Web 2.0 technologies embeddedin their teaching materials were benefiting students. The pedagogical frameworks described in the eResproject were designed to stimulate and encourage learning in a variety of situations. Examples includemotivating large cohorts, encouraging meaningful revision and stimulating interest in subjects perceived asdifficult. A number of the case studies considered how to promote effective reading strategies in a digitalenvironment using tools including wikis, blogs and social bookmarking Full details of the case studies andthe briefing papers generated by the project are available from the eRes web page.  The sweeping changes brought about by the introduction of printing in late 15th and early 16th centuriestook time, in some cases several centuries, to impact on the general population of Europe and the widerworld. By contrast, the technological revolution of the last few decades has quickly reached all sectors ofmost societies. The relative speed with which Luther’s Ninety-five Theses were spread across Europe hasbeen surpassed by the instantaneous dissemination of communication technologies. The individual is thecommon denominator in all of this; the scholar who takes advantage of the opportunities available to them.Libraries are still a vital linchpin, enabling learning and supporting sholarship and research.Our building delivers inspiration and we hope our services facilitate learning within our community.  Eachsmall change delivers a big difference to our users.   Figure 4:  The Sir Michael Cobham Library.ReferencesBall, D. Beard, J. Newland, B., 2007. E-books and Virtual Learning Environments: Responses to TransformationalTechnology. The Acquisitions Librarian, 19. (3-4): 165-182.Beard, J. Dale, P., 2008. Re-designing services for the Net-Gen and beyond: an holistic review of pedagogy, resourceand learning space. New Review of Academic Librarianship. 14 (1-2) 99-114Biggs, J., 2007. Teaching for quality learning at university: what the student does.   3rd ed. Maidenhead: OpenUniversity Press.Borda, A. et al., 2006. Report of the Working Group on Virtual Research Communities for the OST e-InfrastructureSteering Group. London, UK, Office of Science and Technology, 46pp. Available from http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/42074/[Accessed 28 April 2009]Bournemouth University Library. Available from http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/building/llc_gallery_home.html[Accessed 26 November 2008]Cannell, S., 2007. SCONUL Library Design Awards. SCONUL Focus.  42. 92- 94Designing Libraries. Available from http://www.designinglibraries.org.uk/ [Accessed 26 November 2008]Eisenstein, E.L., 1993.  The printing revolution in early modern Europe.  Canto ed.  Cambridge: Cambridge UniversityPress.eRes: innovative e-learning with e-resources. Bournemouth University. Available fromhttp://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/eds/eres/index.html [accessed 22 November 2008]Guardian., 2008. Libraries unleashed. 30 April 2008.Heppel, S. Chapman, C. Millwood, R. Constable, M. Furness. J., 2004. building learning futures. a research project at Ultralabwithin the CABE/RIBA “Building Futures” programme.  Available from http://rubble.heppell.net/cabe/final_report.pdf>[accessed 24 November 2008]JISC., 2007. Student expectations study: key findings from online research discussion evenings held in June 2007 forthe Joint Information Systems Committee. London: Jisc. Available fromhttp://www.jisc.ac.uk/publications/publications/studentexpectations [Accessed 24 November 2008]LIBER. Ligue des bibliotheques europeens de recherche. Available from http://www.libereurope.eu.  accessed 26November 2008]Penniman, D. To remain what it is, the library must change..University of Buffalo. Available fromhttp://www.uoguelph.ca/~mridley/TPL-Nov2005.ppt[Accessed April 2009]

building learning futures. a research project at Ultralab within the CABE/RIBA “Building Futures” programme. Available from http://rubble.heppell.net/cabe/final_report.pdf> [accessed 24

E-books and Virtual Learning Environments: Responses to Transformational Technology.

eRes: innovative e-learning with e-resources. Bournemouth University. Available from http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/eds/eres/index.html [accessed 22

Re-designing services for the Net-Gen and beyond: an holistic review of pedagogy, resource and learning space.

Report of the Working Group on Virtual Research Communities for the OST e-Infrastructure Steering Group.

Small Changes - Big Difference: Bournemouth University Library and its learning community

Small Changes - Big Difference: Bournemouth University Library and its learning community

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