Presentation Practice Facilities Practice spaces for individual and group rehearsal of presentations are a logical asset to embed in comprehensive learning spaces. They have emerged in the past five years as an important complement to commons, outfitted with projectors and large-screen monitors, recording devices, playback options for critiquing personal performance, and occasionally with experts at hand who can provide useful feedback. A varied selection can be found at the following libraries: University of Georgia’s Student Learning Center http://slc.uga.edu/facility.html University of Tennessee’s The Commons http://commons.utk.edu/ Georgia Tech’s Presentation Rehearsal Studio http://www.library.gatech.edu/news/rehearsal.php University of Washington’s Odegaard Library Digital Presentation Studio http://catalyst.washington.edu/learning_spaces/digital_presentation_studi o.html University of Pennsylvania’s Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Weigle Commons practice venues (with expert assistance) http://www.sas.upenn.edu/cwic/faq.html In Summary Exceptional progress has been made to transform research libraries into popular destinations for productivity and learning. Surveys suggest that libraries are seen as the logical providers of primary learning spaces on campus. Today the undergraduate learning commons is a celebrated success on most ARL campuses. Many of these enterprises are virtually identical in the assets and assistance they provide. This is due in large part to the influence of early pioneers in the learning-commons arena. Today some libraries are demonstrating new models of programming and support that suggest the next wave of enhancements. The best of these facilities are informed by user-centered studies that tap into the genuine needs of undergraduates and the faculty who teach them. These leading-edge spaces also provide opportunities to showcase student art and projects, hear intriguing lectures from local and visiting personalities, and find ample opportunities for social engagement. RLI 264 16 Learning and Research Spaces in ARL Libraries: Snapshots of Installations and Experiments ( C O N T I N U E D ) JUNE 2009 RESEARCH LIBRARY ISSUES: A BIMONTHLY REPORT FROM ARL, CNI, AND SPARC
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