Next-Gen Learning Spaces, SPEC Kit 342 (September 2014)

Brown, Sherri; Bennett, Charlie; Henson, Bruce; Valk, Alison

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SPEC Kit 342: Next-Gen Learning Spaces · 15
an area of experimentation and libraries use a variety
of established assessment strategies.
The Future of Library Learning Spaces
Most responding libraries (60, or 84%) have plans to
make significant changes to at least one of their learn-
ing spaces in the near future, including adding class-
rooms, labs, collaborative study spaces, and maker-
spaces, along with removing collections. Other, more
rarified expansions include digital studios, visualiza-
tion labs, and other support for particular student
learning and productivity strategies specific to disci-
plines or curriculum changes. There were few men-
tions of print collections other than removing them
from the library even the repurposing of a Special
Collections reference room involving historical presses
would focus on demonstrations and lectures.
Information technology, interdisciplinary collab-
orative learning, community, and support for new
pedagogical strategies were common responses
when survey respondents were asked to envision
the role of Next-Gen learning spaces in the future of
research libraries.
Conclusion
The Next-Gen learning space is a resource and fo-
rum for the whole campus, providing the space and
tools for instruction, scholarly communication, and
pedagogical experimentation by students, faculty,
and staff. Libraries continue to experiment in these
spaces, inspired by their own observations of library
use and by the aspirations of library partners, as new
jobs are created to respond to pedagogical changes
and emerging multidisciplinary curriculum needs,
new spaces are created to accommodate new tools and
work styles, and libraries strive to “model the behavior
of the scholar in the digital age.”

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SPEC Kit 342: Next-Gen Learning Spaces (September 2014) resources

SPEC Kit 342: Next-Gen Learning Spaces · 17
SURVEY QUESTIONS AND RESPONSES
The SPEC Survey on Next-Gen Learning Spaces was designed by Sherri Brown, Instruction Unit Head,
Public Services, Charlie Bennett, Undergraduate Programming and Engagement Librarian, Bruce Henson,
Associate Dean for Research and Learning Services, and Alison Valk, Multimedia Instruction Librarian, at
the Georgia Institute of Technology Library. These results are based on data submitted by 72 of the 125 ARL
member libraries (58%) by the deadline of May 14, 2014. The survey’s introductory text and questions are
reproduced below, followed by the response data and selected comments from the respondents.
Many research libraries were radically transformed in the early 2000s with the introduction of information commons. In 2004,
Leslie Haas and Jan Robertson from the University of Utah authored SPEC Kit 281, The Information Commons, which provided
an overview of the state of commons in ARL member libraries. Since that time, these commons have continued developing as the
growth of electronic resources has reduced the space necessary for physical collections. Libraries are using that newly available space
for much more than computer labs and study areas. In the last decade, what we are calling Next-Gen Learning Spaces have emerged
that bring together services, programming, instruction, campus and community collaboration, and specialized resources of all kinds
to support a wide range of teaching, learning, and research.
Next-Gen learning spaces are distinguished from information commons or other library innovations by their purpose and by
the activities libraries encourage within them. Next-Gen learning spaces are service-rich environments created in collaboration
with campus partners that support active learning and multidisciplinary instruction along with providing a platform for scholarly
communication and cultural enrichment. These spaces can be created all at once in one renovation or construction project, or they
can develop piece-by-piece, e.g., when a library adds new services to a computer lab or classroom that in turn create an opportunity
to collaborate with an external partner.
The purpose of this survey is to explore the configuration and uses of library learning spaces, the developments and transformations
that have occurred over the past ten years, and future plans for learning spaces to determine where these learning spaces are on a
continuum between first-gen information commons and next-gen spaces. The compiled responses from ARL members can be used
as a benchmark for individual libraries making decisions regarding existing and future learning spaces, as well as to form a more
complete picture of the direction in which learning spaces are headed as we move further into the 21st century.
This survey explores five main areas related to learning spaces. The first sections of the survey seek to identify what kinds of learning
spaces currently exist, how these spaces have changed since their inception, and the effects these spaces have had on other library
operations. The next three sections explore the instruction, programming, and collaboration that take place in the learning spaces.
Finally, the last section is focused on the current assessment of ARL members’ learning spaces and changes that have been made or
are planned based on the results of these evaluations.

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Page 9Survey Results click to expand contents

Page 89Representative Documents click to expand contents

Page 91Examples of Learning Spaces click to expand contents

Page 99Instruction Spaces click to expand contents

Page 105Floor Plans & Maps click to expand contents

Page 113Marketing Learning Spaces click to expand contents

Page 123Marketing Programming & Instruction click to expand contents

Page 141Policies and Procedures click to expand contents

Page 147Staffing click to expand contents

Page 165Planning and Assessment click to expand contents

Page 189Selected Resources click to expand contents

SPEC Kit 342: Next-Gen Learning Spaces (September 2014) resources

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SPEC Kit 342: Next-Gen Learning Spaces (September 2014) resources