BY TAYLOR SCHWEITZER
When you walk into a library, you expect it to be silent. At Conestoga College, that is not the case.
The newly renovated space is a beehive of activity, with students gathered in groups, discussing projects, or photocopying and printing documents.
The Doon Library Resource Centre is a vibrant place, thanks in part to a major renovation that involved two phases last year. Its grand opening took place Dec. 10.
The renovation maximized the effectiveness of the space to include areas that are more conducive to group work, technology use and quiet study, and improved the overall esthetics and traffic flow of the B-wing corridor.
The renovated library also has after-hours study space, with 84 seats in the Learning Lab and Quiet Study room that remain accessible from the hallway any time after the library closes, up until 11 p.m. Each room contains USB ports for charging mobile devices, and outlets to connect laptops.
“Even if the library is closed for the evening, students can still have a safe place to access (to) study,” said Rachel Caldwell, the manager of client services and operations.
If you need to get together with a group, you can book a meeting room. The library has four collaboration rooms, each equipped with an LCD monitor and cords to connect devices, and six work rooms containing tables, chairs and whiteboards. All rooms can be booked in person or online up to a week in advance, for a maximum of two hours per group per day.
If you enjoy reading books on your electronic device, you’ll be happy to hear the library has nearly tripled its e-book collection. They now have approximately 260,000 e-books which can be searched by title using their Discover Service, or by searching the full text of each collection individually.
If you want to read a novel or watch a movie, that is possible too. Many students don’t know that the library has fiction books available as well as new film releases. And students can now sign out the print magazines and journals.
“If a student wanted to sign out a magazine, for example, design magazines, students weren’t allowed to sign those out,” said Trish Weigel-Green, director of the Library Resource Centre. “Now, with the new phase, magazines are offered to students to be signed out.”
All of this can be done by presenting your ONE Card at the library, or by accessing online resources while off campus.
Your library PIN number is now the last four digits of your student or staff ID number, as found on your ONE Card.
One of the most popular new features is the addition of a room for photocopying, black and white printing and scanning documents.
During the grand opening it was announced that Conestoga president John Tibbits was providing a leadership gift to the library to be used to support its technology and resource needs including the new collaborative lounge and learning lab, which will be known as the Dr. John Tibbits Collaboration Suite.
What is Journalism?