Location

Session 4, Meeting Room IV

Start Date

21-10-2013 2:30 PM

End Date

21-10-2013 3:20 PM

Description

As academic libraries continue to adopt and expand upon learning commons service models, assessment of these new and emerging spaces and services is critical to understanding and demonstrating their value to the campus community. In Fall 2012, the University Libraries, UNC Greensboro created a new kind of learning space -- the Digital Media Commons (DMC) -- to help address and support digital literacy needs across the campus.

The DMC is jointly staffed by the Libraries and the University’s Digital Literacy Center. These partners provide the UNCG community with layers of support for multimodal projects, from assignment creation and refinement to rhetorical consultation and technical production assistance. This session describes early efforts by the Libraries to understand DMC patron needs in terms of services, technology, and space, and explores what impact, if any, these services have on student learning.

Through a series of semester-long studies, we analyzed how our technology, space, and staff resources were being utilized. Surveys, focus groups, workshop evaluations, desk transactions, and physical usage statistics were all gathered and analyzed. This combined data offered valuable insight into the overall effectiveness of the new space and services, as well as providing a direction for future assessment in the DMC.

Share

COinS
 
Oct 21st, 2:30 PM Oct 21st, 3:20 PM

Assessing the Digital Media Commons: Evaluating New Library Spaces and Services at UNC Greensboro

Session 4, Meeting Room IV

As academic libraries continue to adopt and expand upon learning commons service models, assessment of these new and emerging spaces and services is critical to understanding and demonstrating their value to the campus community. In Fall 2012, the University Libraries, UNC Greensboro created a new kind of learning space -- the Digital Media Commons (DMC) -- to help address and support digital literacy needs across the campus.

The DMC is jointly staffed by the Libraries and the University’s Digital Literacy Center. These partners provide the UNCG community with layers of support for multimodal projects, from assignment creation and refinement to rhetorical consultation and technical production assistance. This session describes early efforts by the Libraries to understand DMC patron needs in terms of services, technology, and space, and explores what impact, if any, these services have on student learning.

Through a series of semester-long studies, we analyzed how our technology, space, and staff resources were being utilized. Surveys, focus groups, workshop evaluations, desk transactions, and physical usage statistics were all gathered and analyzed. This combined data offered valuable insight into the overall effectiveness of the new space and services, as well as providing a direction for future assessment in the DMC.