You may know that the University of Massachusetts Amherst has a public library. What you probably don’t know is all of the forward-thinking technological gems inside.
“UMass culture is about trying new things and taking risks,” Carol Connare, Director of Library Development & Communication told Microsoft New England. “Academic libraries are really changing.”
Ethnographic studies have been conducted in the Learning Commons to better understand how the library can serve all users. New microclimate test areas with modular mobile seating, and moveable writing surfaces “help us better understand how we can foster innovative thinking.”
Hundreds of public computers are readily available to be used for free by students and visitors alike, 24 hours a day during the semester. The publicly accessible computers are another core focus of UMass for their library, part of their “open access movement.”
The accessibility of technology is a big issue these days. How can we fight for a “level playing field” in an area where some don’t even have the means to participate?
“We want students as well as visitors to have access to as many things as possible,” Connare said. “This is what open, collaborative learning looks like.”
This is why one of Microsoft New England’s software grants this year went to the UMass public library, allowing for more than 200 publicly accessible computers to be outfitted with the latest Microsoft technology. All users can access the university’s vast store of print and digital resources in an integrated information environment, a place where there’s free access to technology and where reference librarians still personally answer questions and guide research.
“How do you embed technology in the space where users can make the most out of it?” Connare said this is the motivating quest behind how the library uses the grants. “They are a generous gift that keeps state-of-the-art things alive for the library.”