After a year-long process of consultation, construction and the removal of some 270,000 books to make space for 50 new workstations, staff and students celebrated the first steps towards transforming the library into a 21st century research laboratory — one of the goals of
Vision 2010.
The renovations of the library are the first phase of a three-year project to renovate all public spaces in Morisset Library. The renovations are a visible commitment from the University to enhance the student experience by providing attractive, welcoming learning spaces and services that are appropriate for today’s students. This includes Morisset Library remaining open until 2 a.m. seven days a week during the academic year.
Some new services have also been introduced to help students achieve academic success:
• A new laptop loan service: students, faculty and staff may borrow one of 110 laptops donated to the University by Lenovo as part of the
Campaign for Canada’s university. The laptops may be borrowed for three to four hours for in-library use.
• A student mentoring centre: the library has partnered with SASS to provide peer helpers to assist students with study and writing skills.
• A new computer lab: the library has partnered with Computing and Communications Services (CCS) to acquire and support 50 workstations. CCS staff will share the Morisset Reference Desk to help students with any technical questions. The availability of office productivity software (including Excel and PowerPoint) allows students to complete an entire research process in the library, from identification and retrieval of scholarly information to the final preparation of research papers and assignments.
University chief librarian Leslie Weir is proud of the work done to date and is looking forward to the next phase of renovations. “We are so excited by the student reaction to our new study spaces and services. In the next phase, scheduled for summer 2007, we will not only add more student study space, but also create new spaces especially designed to support the research interests of our students and faculty,” says Weir.
